There was no Sunday sleep-in for a group of volunteers who took on the task of washing a decommissioned Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) plane this week.
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Buckets, brooms, chamois, sponges, rags, a scissor lift and passion for giving back to a good cause was all that was required for them to get the job done at the new RFDS tourism facility at Dubbo airport.
Still under construction, the facility will feature an old RFDS aircraft that tourists and guests can look at when they visit.
Dubbo RFDS Support Group members joined staff for the plane washing working bee.
Support group member and volunteer Annabelle Peet said it was "a little bit harder than a car".
For one couple in the group, there was a very personal reason they got involved with the RFDS.
"My husband needed to be flown to Newcastle to get a pacemaker," Maralyn Pearce said.
"He was also flown back from Sydney after a knee replacement."
I put up with it all day because I couldn't get into the doctor
- Noel Pearce
Noel Pearce is Maralyn's husband and he said the health scare that saw him need the RFDS started with a dizzy feeling.
"I put up with it all day because I couldn't get into the doctor," he said.
"I ended up driving myself to the hospital and I got into trouble when I got there.
After Mr Pearce was seen by nurses and doctors, he told his wife she "better go because it looks like we're gonna be here a while".
"The doctors said 'she's not going anywhere' and I said 'she's got a hair appointment'.
A short time later Mr Pearce was rushed to the RFDS base in Dubbo and flown to Newcastle.
He needed emergency medical treatment from a heart specialist.
If it wasn't for local hospital staff and the RFDS crew who flew Mr Pearce to Newcastle, his heart failure may have resulted in death.
Now nothing is stopping him from helping the organisation that helped him.
Like many other volunteers that give back to the RFDS, it's all done with a smile and is no trouble at all.
