DERBY is to be treated to an exclusive fly-past of a new passenger jet powered by city-built Rolls-Royce engines.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner will fly over the city on Tuesday as a thank-you to Rolls-Royce staff who developed its Trent 1000 engines.

The revolutionary aircraft is undergoing intense tests at Boeing's Seattle base.

But tomorrow it will be making the journey across the Atlantic, touching down in time for the start of the Farnborough International Air Show, which starts on Monday.

Before it returns to Seattle, Rolls-Royce has arranged with Boeing for the Dreamliner to take a detour and fly over Derby.

According to Rolls-Royce, the Dreamliner is scheduled to take off from Farnborough at around 4.40pm on Tuesday, flanked by two Second World War fighter planes, the Hurricane and the Spitfire, which were powered by the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine.

The Dreamliner will then fly solo to Derby and will be expected over the city between 5.15pm and 5.45pm.

The fly-past should be a momentous occasion for the Rolls-Royce staff, particularly those who have worked on the Trent 1000 engine programme.

The company said all Rolls-Royce staff would be allowed to down tools to watch the aircraft as it flies over the firm's civil aerospace division site in Sinfin.

It is hoped, after making one pass over the site, it will come round for a second.

After this it will head north over the city, taking a route over Pride Park and Derbyshire County Cricket Club's ground in Nottingham Road.

Ian Bustin, head of communications at Rolls-Royce's civil aerospace division in Derby, said: "The trip over to the UK by the Dreamliner is one of the tests within its flight programme.

"It will be the first time the aircraft has been seen outside of America.

"A lot of hard work has been put in by the staff in Derby on the Trent 1000 programme so the flight over the city is a thank-you to them.

"But it is also an acknowledgement of Derby as a whole and we wanted to make sure everyone in the city was aware that this is happening so they can look out for the Dreamliner."

Early weather forecasts from the Met Office suggest that conditions will be relatively good for viewing, with sunny intervals predicted for Tuesday.

Mr Bustin said: "The Dreamliner is built to operate in all conditions so, whatever the weather, the flight should go ahead.

"The aircraft is expected to fly at about 2,000ft over the city so everyone should be able to see it."

The last time such an event took place was in March, 2007, when the Airbus A380, powered by Trent 900 engines, flew over the Rolls-Royce factory in tribute to the Derby staff who worked on those engines.

A total of six Dreamliners are taking part in the testing programme as the aircraft seeks to achieve its certificate of airworthiness, which will allow it to carry paying passengers.

Some of the aircraft are fitted with Rolls-Royce engines, and some with engines made by rivals General Electric.

Rolls-Royce engines are performing the lion's share of the programme.

Individual airlines which order Dreamliners will be able to specify which brand of engine to buy.

The Dreamliner has been touted by Boeing as the most fuel-efficient and eco-friendly aircraft to date. It is also packed with features that aim to give the passenger a more comfortable flight.

So far, Rolls-Royce has secured 258 firm orders for Trent 1000 engines for the Dreamliner and an option on a further 75, from 20 customers.

The largest is from Japanese airline All Nippon Airways, which has ordered 50 aircraft in a deal worth $1 billion (£653.9 million).

It will be the first customer to receive a Dreamliner and Boeing has pledged to start deliveries by the end of this year.