John F. O'Connell and George Williams, editors of Air Transport in the 21st Century are donating all of their book royalties to the ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital. ‘Sight is one of the most important gifts that we get in life,’ says John O’Connell (Frankie), ‘ and there are many people who live in third world countries who are blind, but through surgery they could have the miracle of sight restored which would forever change their lives. 'ORBIS is an uplifting charity that uses a wide body DC-10 aircraft that goes into these low income countries to help those less fortunate.

The people involved in this endeavour are inspirational as some of the world’s top eye surgeons, along with a wide range of medical personnel, give their expertise and time for free. In addition the aviation community is equally compassionate as FedEx donated the aircraft while pilots and mechanics freely provide their services. ‘The worlds of medicine and aviation are bridged to produce a worthy and noble charity, whose gracious efforts will touch those less fortunate.’ The book carries an introductory comment by Dr Robert F. Walters, Chairman of ORBIS International, who warns that, ‘up to half of children in developing countries who become blind will die within a year.’ He goes on to explain how ORBIS tries to address this serious problem: ‘Our focus is on teaching and training, and since 1982 ORBIS has carried out more than 1,000 sight-saving programmes and treated more than 10 million people worldwide.'

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