Up, up and away! RAF Cosford aircraft get a spring clean
Specially trained cleaners are taking to the air by high wire to give decades-old aircraft their annual spruce up.
Armed with dusters, brooms and mops, workers from Total Access in Eccleshall have spent their week viewing the National Cold War Exhibition at RAF Cosford Museum from a higher angle than most.
The museum is closed until this Saturday for its annual clean-up and spokeswoman Michelle Morgan said it is an opportunity for staff to carry out large scale jobs and tasks that are too difficult to complete when open to the public.
Several specially trained workers have been hanging out at the Cold War exhibition, tasked with the cleaning the suspended planes and completing safety checks of the suspension that keeps the aircraft in place.
Mrs Morgan said it was a "tricky and skilled" job, with the workers suspended from ropes and harnesses connected to the building's metal framework. The exhibition features 19 aircraft, tanks, vehicles, models and memorabilia, and is the only place in the UK where people can view Britain's V-Bombers, the Vulcan, Victor and Valiant. There are more than 70 aircraft throughout the museum, and some of the bigger aircraft have also had to be cleaned "from above".
Museum staff have been cleaning the other planes, moving some of the smaller ones around and working on other bits of maintenance.
They have also been busy putting the finishing touches to the First World War exhibition which opens on January 15. The museum will be open to the public again from 10am on Saturday.
