IT'S that time of year when thoughts turn to spring-cleaning and at one leading tourist attraction the chore has begun.

The Yorkshire Air Museum at Elvington, near York, is preparing for another busy year by giving its many aircraft and displays a spruce up.

And one of the exhibits getting a dusting down is the historic and very fragile Cayley Glider.

The glider is the museum's replica of the world's first fixed-wing man-carrying aircraft, designed by Scarborough inventor Sir George Cayley, in 1852.

The aircraft is of wood and canvas construction, and it is the large wing, which in many ways resembles a horizontal sail, that requires the most work.

To accomplish the task, the aircraft is being completely up-ended, so the wing can be washed down with a soap solution at an angle that will allow the water to dry off without leaving pools that will stain the fabric.

The Cayley Glider will take pride of place alongside the Wright Flyer, during the museum's June celebrations of the centenary of flight.

The Wright Flyer, now nearing completion of a total rebuilding programme, is one of only two authentic replicas of the world's first powered aircraft in the UK and will be the only example to feature in any Centenary of Flight celebrations in the UK.