The weekend was very special for 84-year-old Stan Shaw, when his goal of flying in a Tiger Moth plane came true. Mr Shaw, from Calvary Mt Carmel Retirement Community in Maitland in NSW's Hunter region, has a passion for all things mechanical and took to the sky on Saturday, February 4 at Luskintyre Airfield. Mr Shaw waved to his family and friends from high above as he and pilot Grant Fletcher soared above the city for about 20 minutes. Mr Shaw said he 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," he said. "You're leaving the whole world as it seems, and the world looks so much different." Originally from nearby Newcastle, Mr Shaw worked for 33 years on the NSW railway and loves planes, trains and cars. He said he's had an interest in planes since he was a child, and his favourite thing about going on a flight is it's always different. "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 all started when Mr Shaw 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. 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 coordinator Naomi Oldham said Mr Shaw'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's definitely had the desired outcome of boosting morale among staff, residents, families. It's been really positive." IN OTHER NEWS: Former Calvary Mt Carmel receptionist of 25 years Wendy Fletcher, who since retiring now volunteers as Mt Carmel's bus driver, owns the plane Mr Shaw went up in. Her husband Grant was the pilot for Mr Shaw's flight. Mrs Fletcher was the one to ask the nursing home staff if the flight would be possible, after Mr Shaw expressed such interest when seeing the plane on the ground. Mr Shaw said since the flight, he 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."
