Famed Australian aviation pioneer Nancy Bird Walton has died aged 93, just months after fulfilling her dream to see the launch of the Qantas super jumbo named in her honour.
The National Living Treasure, as named by the National Trust of Australia in 1997, died from natural causes at her Mosman home on Sydney's north shore about 2pm (AEDT) on Tuesday.
Taught to fly by Charles Kingsford-Smith at age 17, Ms Walton became Australia's first commercially licensed female pilot two years later.
One of the first people to enrol in Kingsford Smith's Mascot flying school, the 150cm-tall Ms Walton needed to sit on two cushions to be able to reach the pedals and see out of the cockpit.
But despite her lack of height and disapproval from her tutor, the NSW-born woman went on to become one the country's most inspirational aviators.
"Smithy didn't quite approve of women flying," Ms Walton once said.
With support from her family, Ms Walton purchased her own Gypsy Moth aircraft and flew around NSW, promoting aviation and taking passengers into the skies.
At age 19 she was hired to operate an air ambulance service throughout outback NSW, ferrying medical staff, the injured and expectant mothers.
She would often land in stock-filled paddocks with her only clue to wind direction being a glance at washing hanging on nearby lines.
Ms Walton's aviation achievements include founding the Australian Women Pilots' Association and serving as its long-term president, and Emeritus patron of the Royal Flying Doctor Service.
Her lifetime of dedication to aviation was acknowledged with an OBE in 1966.
She became a Dame of the Knights of Malta in 1977 and in 1990 was awarded an AO by the Australian government.
In September last year, she was further honoured when Qantas named its first A380 aircraft "Nancy Bird Walton".
"Qantas first asked if they could name this magnificent plane after me at my 90th birthday three years ago and I made it my decision to stay alive for today's ceremony ... and I've made it," she told the ceremony in September.
The A380 is considered to be the most advanced and eco-efficient aircraft, thanks to reduced external noise levels, lower fuel consumption and significantly improved carbon dioxide emissions per passenger per kilometre.
"We couldn't in our wildest dreams imagine that it would come to this, and that it would fly so well, so smooth, not as noisy," Ms Walton said during her inspection of the aircraft.
Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said Ms Walton had been a "trailblazer for Australian women pilots and an inspirational figure in Australian aviation".
"We are so proud that our first A380 is named after Nancy Bird and will carry her name into the future," he said in a statement issued on Tuesday.
"Nancy Bird's boundless energy, her courage and her vision for the role of women in aviation represented the best of Australia."
Former Sydney Airports CEO Tony Stuart, a close friend of Ms Walton in her later years, said she had inspired many.
"Nancy was an inspirational Australian whose infectious enthusiasm, true blue grit and commitment to helping others touched all who met her," said Mr Stuart, who is now CEO of NRMA Motoring & Services.
"Warm, generous and full of vitality, energy and curiosity, Nancy was dearly loved by all who met her and had friends of all ages and from all walks of life."
Ms Walton is survived by her daughter Anne Marie, son John, grandchildren Scott, Anna, Paul and Baron, and great grandchildren Lachlan and Zoe.
A public funeral service was expected to be held in Sydney, with a date yet to be confirmed, a family spokeswoman said.
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