Stan Shaw, 84, fulfilled a dream when he flew in a Tiger Moth plane.
Stan, who has a passion for all things mechanical, took to the sky last Saturday at Luskintyre Airfield in Maitland.
He waved to his family and friends from high above as he and pilot Grant Fletcher soared above the city for about 20 minutes.
Stan didn't want the ride to end.
"I've been in small planes before but each one has something different - I didn't want to come down. You're leaving the whole world as it seems, and the world looks so much different."
Originally from Newcastle, Stan worked for 33 years on the NSW railway and loves planes, trains and automobiles.
He's had an interest in planes since he was a child, and his favourite thing about going on a flight is the variety of experience.
"It doesn't matter how many times you get to do it, it's always different. It seems new every time," he said.
The idea for the flight started when Stan visited the airfield on a bus trip and first laid eyes on the plane.
He wrote the flight as his goal on his nursing home's 'goal tree', a space where residents share their goals. Stan lives in the Calvary Mt Carmel retirement community.
Residents are encouraged to put up a goal, no matter how big or small, and staff try their best to make it happen.
Calvary Mt Carmel Retirement Community clinical care co-ordinator Naomi Oldham said Stan's goal was definitely the most ambitious so far.
"Last year, partly to do with COVID and partly to do with increasing people's happiness, we came up with an initiative where we made a goal tree, and each resident is strongly encouraged to pick a goal they would like help to achieve," she said.
"Something like Stan having a goal this big and this fun, it's really nice to be able to show the other residents and the families that you can still have these amazing goals and aspirations.
"It definitely had the desired outcome of boosting morale among staff, residents and families. It's been really positive."
Wendy Fletcher, a former Calvary Mt Carmel receptionist of 25 years, owns the plane that Stan went up in.
Since retiring, Wendy volunteers as the community's bus driver. Her husband Grant was the pilot for Stan's flight.
Wendy was the one to ask the nursing home staff if the flight would be possible, after Stan expressed an interest when seeing the plane on the ground.
Since the flight, Stan has been talking with staff and friends about the importance of dreaming big.
"Don't think it's silly, whatever your goal is. Make an effort to do it," he said.
"I'd say it doesn't matter what age you are, have a go."
Missing Mannequin
The search is on for a missing mannequin, which was lost in a dam during an Inverell SES training exercise.
"If you spot a man-shaped figure in an orange life jacket, do not be alarmed - it's just Drop Dead Fred," Inverell SES posted on social media.
The mannequin became waterlogged during the drill.
"He was last seen sinking into the depths of the dam," the post said.
"If Fred can be retrieved, please leave him with Tom at the kiosk so that Fred can dry up and resume his critical role in our training schedule."
