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Victorville, Calif. - October 31, 2007 – Mix a high school football team and a Boeing DC-10 and what do you get? A unique fund raising opportunity.
Yesterday, players from Apple Valley High School gave their all to pull a special DC-10 across the taxiway at the Southern California Logistics Airport.
The DC-10, known as the Orbis Flying Eye Hospital, has been flying around the world since 1982. The ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital and its international medical team have conducted treatment and training programs in more than 75 countries and many of the world’s leading surgeons donate their time to perform surgery and teach aboard the aircraft in programs specifically designed to suit the needs of host countries. The airplane is preparing to travel to the Far East after a recent overhaul.
The full Apple Valley team (47 players) took a mere 6.9 seconds to pull the DC-10 12 feet. A second, smaller team (20 players) used 12.7 seconds to pull the airpane. A third teeam, made up of ORBIS crew members and staff, took a bit longer to complete the 12-foot distance – 15.6 seconds.
The plane-pull is actually a rehearsal for a similar fundraising event planned in Macau in December when five corporate sponsors will compete to pull the plane, paying $10,000 each for the chance.
According to the World Health Organization, 37 million people worldwide are blind — yet 28 million don't have to be. ORBIS International is a nonprofit humanitarian organization dedicated to blindness prevention and treatment in developing countries, where 90 percent of the blind live.
The interior of the ORBIS DC-10.
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Apple Valley High School football team gets ready to pull a 350,000-pound ORBIS DC-10. Reneh Agha / Staff Photographer, Daily Press
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