SIE close to testing new FedEx-donated flying hospital

Matthew Creager, president of Structural Integrity Engineering (SIE), is in the business of major aircraft modifications, but one he said he is most proud of is the work his company has done with Orbis, a nonprofit organization dedicated to eye health. Additionally, FedEx has played a huge role in helping Orbis with its vision of a world where no one is needlessly blind.

At the Cargo Facts Symposium in Miami last week, Creager said FedEx donated to Orbis an MD-10-30 freighter, which is in the process of being converted into its next “Flying Eye Hospital.” This specially converted aircraft will be a fully equipped teaching hospital that will travel to various locations around the world to provide ophthalmic training and treatment services. Currently, there is only one of these Orbis flying hospitals in existence: A converted, ’80s-vintage DC-10-10 that was also donated by FedEx. However, the aging original aircraft needs to be retired.

Creager said the previous Flying Eye Hospital featured a classroom in the front of the aircraft and the hospital, which included an operating room, in the aft segment.

The newer MD-10-30 which is being converted into a combination aircraft, will still have a classroom in the front, but the hospital section will be different. Different parts of the hospital will be contained in individual, movable pallets, creating a modular floor plan. He said more than 40 people can be on the aircraft in the classroom at once.

SIE did all of the design, modification and certification work on the aircraft. Creager expects SIE will get the STC (supplemental type certificate) sometime in January 2016, with the hospital going into service in the first quarter of 2016. “All of our work is interesting and satisfying, but this was particularly satisfying for everyone involved,” Creager said. “It was a great project for everyone to work on.”

He said FedEx is the leading aviation sponsor of the hospital, and the sole sponsor of “Delivering Sight Worldwide,” a global program that provides direct support for Orbis programs and brings attention to the problem of avoidable blindness in developing nations. Additionally, it delivers medical supplies to Orbis programs worldwide, and the carrier provides volunteer FedEx pilots to move the Flying Eye Hospital and train all Orbis volunteer pilots.