Since it launched in 1982, the Orbis Flying Eye Hospital has landed in more than 95 countries around the world. “When we arrive in country, all we need are stairs, patients and doctors to train,” said Allen. Equipped with ADS-B Out capability, it can fly in any airspace in the world. The Orbis MD-10 features a Honeywell glass cockpit, similar to the MD-11. Peter Allen, chairman of Orbis Canada, sits in the cockpit in Toronto. The generators run on jet fuel from the aircraft fuel tanks, making the hospital completely self-sufficient. All its systems – power, air conditioning, Internet and IT capability, water purifier and oxygen – are powered by external generators that are carried in the aircraft belly during travel. The hospital is independent of the aircraft in other ways, too. So, with the cargo door in this aircraft, we created modular hospital components that are completely separate from the aircraft and can be removed if needed.” “If we wanted to change anything, we had to get an STC – it was very cumbersome. “The hospital structure used to be mounted to the aircraft frame,” explained Peter Allen, chairman of Orbis Canada and treasurer of Orbis International. In part, the lengthy process was due to Orbis’ desire to design the exam, operating suite and recovery room as modular components. ![]() While the DC-10 continued to work around the world, the MD-10 underwent a six-year renovation that would transform it into a one-of-a-kind, fully equipped mobile eye care hospital, complete with a classroom, ophthalmic examination and training simulation suite, and operating and recovery rooms. “Al” Ueltschi, who was an early and passionate supporter of Orbis. The last two letters in the jet’s registration pay tribute to FlightSafety International founder A.L. The MD-10 is the third aircraft used by Orbis. Interestingly, the last two letters in the jet’s registration, N330AU, is a tribute to FlightSafety International founder A.L. Then, in 2010, FedEx donated the organization’s third-generation platform, the current McDonnell Douglas MD-10 aircraft (an upgraded DC-10 with a cockpit requiring only two crewmembers instead of three, and a common type rating with the MD-11). Purchased by the organization using donated funds, the larger aircraft gave the mobile hospital room to grow through the addition of more modern equipment and facilities. It took off on its first mission to Panama in 1982.Ī decade later, Orbis acquired a newer version of the Flying Eye Hospital, this time a Douglas DC-10. Agency for International Development and private donations, it was converted into a mobile teaching hospital. In 1980, United Airlines donated its oldest Douglas DC-8 to Orbis, and through a grant from the U.S. The idea for a mobile ophthalmic teaching hospital was developed in the late 1970s, when aviation and medicine came together to create the Orbis Flying Eye Hospital. However, a shocking 75 per cent of visual impairments can be managed or even prevented with access to surgery, treatment or even eyeglasses. ![]() Rob Reyno PhotoĪs we approached the aircraft during its recent visit to Toronto on June 11, its bright and shiny exterior belied the fact that the MD-10 was manufactured 46 years ago in 1973.īut the aircraft itself, no matter how impressive, is merely a conduit with a noble purpose: to deliver state-of-the-art vision care and related training programs to global medical professionals.Īccording to Orbis, there are 253 million people around the world who are blind or visually impaired. The current MD-10 was donated by FedEx in 2010 and underwent a six-year renovation. ![]() For Orbis, the aircraft is simply a means of transporting its mobile teaching hospital. The Orbis Flying Eye Hospital is a sight to behold. Estimated reading time 11 minutes, 27 seconds.
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