Link:
https://youtu.be/RBkutWV5Erk
The Orbis Flying hospital was on full display at Oshkosh Airventure 2021. The video and walkthrough tour was on the last day of the airshow and display August 1st, 2021. There was a constant line and lots of interest to see the one of a kind aircraft. The aircraft was originally a DC-10-30 and upgraded to a MD-10 for FedEx. FedEx did this to upgrade the flight deck to make it common to the MD-11. This reduced the flight crew from 3 to 2 and also allowed the fleet type to be similar for flight crew so unique scheduling and training wasn't required. Basically the MD-11 and MD-10 can be considered the same however the obvious difference on the the outside is the lack of winglets on the MD-10.
photo credit - orbis.org
Orbis is currently using its third flying eye hospital. The aircraft is a McDonnell Douglas MD-10 currently registered as N330AU. The airframe is 47 years old and was delivered to Trans International Airlines April of 1973. In April 1984, FedEx acquired the aircraft and continued to operate it until it was withdrawn from use in January 2010. However, rather than scrapping the aircraft, FedEx donated the plane to Orbis, its current operator. The aircraft was in excellent shape and well maintained by FedEx. FedEx donated the aircraft to Orbis which is supported through donations. FedEx also provides parts, maintenance, and volunteer crew for missions. The aircraft is totally self sufficient with mobile ground power and air units that are offloaded and set up on arrival. The aircraft has a unique feature that it can supply fuel from the the aircraft to the mobile units so when it is in rural area with little to no support, it can operate on its own power with the ground units fueled from the aircraft.
The cargo configuration of the aircraft basically has various modules the are inserted into the aircraft including the Operating room, Recovery room, and more. At the front of the aircraft there is a classroom with 46 seats so local medial professionals can be educated in various parts of the world while procedures are being conducted on patients in the back of the aircraft. Orbis has a mission to not only help patients improve their eye site and conditions but to also educate local medical personnel on producers and various type of medical equipment.
photo credit - orbis.org