ORBIS International is a nonprofit organization dedicated to saving sight worldwide. At the heart of ORBIS is the world’s only Flying Eye Hospital, a DC-10 aircraft containing both an innovative teaching facility and an ophthalmic surgical center. Volunteer pilots from FedEx and United fly the ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital around the world, and its international medical team conducts treatment and training programs. Leading eye surgeons volunteer their time to perform surgery and teach aboard the aircraft during programs specifically designed to suit the skill level of host countries. They have helped over 18 million people in over 90 countries worldwide. In 1982, ORBIS was founded with a grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development, as well as a number of private donors, and is based in New York. The first ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital was a Douglas DC-8-21 donated by United Airlines, which visited 24 countries in its first two years of operation. It was replaced in 1992 by the DC-10, previously used as a test aircraft by McDonnell Douglas, and then acquired for passenger service by Laker Airways. ORBIS acquired the plane for $14 million, then spent 18 months and an additional $15 million to convert the plane into an ophthalmic hospital and teaching facility. In addition to the flight deck, the aircraft contains a classroom, an audio-visual room, a laser treatment room, an operating room, a recovery room, and a communications center. The operating room was placed in the center of the aircraft as the most stable location in case of bad weather. The classroom accommodates 48 students, generally host-country ophthalmologists, who can watch surgery as it was performed in the operating room. The classroom is also used for lectures and discussions by ORBIS teaching staff. In 2016, ORBIS acquired a MD-10, donated by FedEx.
Inducted in 2016.
Portrait Location: Near R-44 and B-5 Brougham

Induction Video