The Next Generation Flying Eye Hospital

ORBIS has operated a Flying Eye Hospital since 1982. After two decades of sterling service, our current DC-10 hospital is being replaced by a MD-10 aircraft. We are excited to be introducing our next generation Flying Eye Hospital, donated by FedEx, which will bring many advantages to the fight against avoidable blindness, among them:

Improved Design - The new Flying Eye Hospital will be an ideal marriage of aviation and medical technology. Housing medical and surgical infrastructure, its hospital suite will comprise nine customized modules similar to commercial cargo containers. The modular design will enable the hospital section to be removed from the aircraft for easy maintenance, and if necessary, replacement. On a technical basis alone, our pioneering module approach will save money, time and resources.

Increased Performance – The next generation Flying Eye Hospital has increased performance over our current plane, which will reduce and in some cases, eliminate expensive and time-consuming fuel stops.

Reduced Operating Cost – The next generation Flying Eye Hospital has an upgraded avionics package that requires only two pilots and less maintenance cost in the upkeep of the equipment in comparison to our current aircraft. This will in turn reduce, if not eliminate, the expense of crew training and spare parts to maintain the new aircraft. These savings translate into more money going directly to our work to eliminate avoidable blindness worldwide.

Increased Audio Visual Capability – The next generation Flying Eye Hospital will leverage cutting edge broadcasting and online technology, ensuring more eye care professionals than ever before can access training from anywhere in the world.

Learn more about the current progress of the next-generation Flying Eye Hospital in our latest video: click here