ONE of the largest aircraft in the world will touch down in the region tomorrow.

A giant C-17 Globemaster III will be landing at the Yorkshire Air Museum to transport four aeroplanes to the Royal International Air Tattoo at Fairford in Gloucestershire.

The aircraft is one of several currently under trials with the Royal Air Force for a possible future order and its more recent deployments have included Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Globemaster is 174ft long with a wingspan of nearly 170ft. It weighs 265 tonnes, and is powered by four Pratt and Whitney turbofan engines.

Tomorrow's operation will be the first time an aircraft of its type will have landed at a non-military airfield in this country and the first sighting of the type in Yorkshire.

The museum has been invited by the Ministry of Defence to exhibit its restored Wright Flyer and four other historic aircraft at Fairford to mark the 100th anniversary year of the first powered flight.

A restored 1953 Dragonfly helicopter from the museum's collection has already been taken by road to Fairford and the museum's stand will take centre stage at the show.

"This allows us an unrivalled opportunity to raise our profile at an international level and we are delighted to be in a position to support the RAF at this prestigious show," said museum spokesman Ian Richardson.

The museum will fly the sole Yorkshire flag at the event, which is the second largest air show in the world with an anticipated 300,000 visitors daily between Thursday, July 17 and Sunday, July 20.

Museum director, Ian Reed said. "It is a great honour for us, to be the only independent museum invited to this prestigious world-class event.

"It is also a tremendous boost in our bid to acquire a Concorde, by further indicating to British Airways the international reputation the museum now holds."

The Globemaster is scheduled to arrive at the museum at 9am and depart at noon.