10 Facts about the World’s only Flying Eye Hospital

1. Part Of History: The current Flying Eye Hospital is actually Orbis’s third aircraft. Our first plane, a DC-8 is now in Beijing’s Aviation Museum and our second plane, a DC-10, lives in Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson.

2. Global Reach: The Flying Eye Hospital has brought vision-saving care and training to over 95 countries around the world such as Vietnam, Zambia and Bangladesh.

3. Groundbreaking Surgeries: Contrary to popular belief, surgeries aren't performed mid-air onboard the plane! Instead, The Flying Eye Hospital safely lands in various locations, where local doctors and nurses will receive hands-on training by Orbis volunteer experts.

4. Sturdy Surgery: For the delicate eye surgeries taking place onboard the Flying Eye Hospital, it’s crucial this is done in the most safe location. The operating theatre is placed over the plane's wings as the sturdiest location onboard the Flying Eye Hospital.

5. A Special Gift: Our current plane, an MD-10, was kindly donated by FedEx. It took 4 years to build, and the hospital and aircraft were completed on opposite sides of the USA - the hospital in Vermont and the aircraft in California. Watch below to see it come together!

6. Volunteer Heroes: We are very lucky that our volunteer doctors and nurses, including those from the NHS, use their annual leave to train local eye care professionals. FedEx pilots also volunteer their time to help the plane to places to provide eye care in hard to reach areas.

7. Flying Medics: Orbis staff get to double as flight attendants aboard the Flying Eye Hospital, and also get trained when the aircraft is restocked prior to a project. Maurice Geary, director of the Orbis Flying Eye Hospital said “So we act as the flight attendants when we fly with staff on the plane... So it's kind of a unique and neat part of our job.”

8. Celebrity Eyes: A number of famous people have been onboard over the years, including Mother Teresa, Fidel Castro, Daniel Craig and HRH The Duchess of Edinburgh.

9. Thirsty Work: The water used on board the Flying Eye Hospital has to be clean enough for surgeons to wash their hands with. Our five water tanks on the plane can completely sanitise water and kill germs using ultraviolet lights, carbon filters and a bromide injector.

10. Teddy Bears: Receiving surgery on board a plane can be scary for our younger visitors. Every child receives a stuffed teddy called Seymour to comfort them – he is even given a patch on the same eye that the child does!

Bonus Fact - You Power The Plane: Without you, our plane wouldn’t get off the ground. Every takeoff, landing, surgery and training session we perform is made possible by our amazing supporters – so thank you for bringing eye care and training around the world.