SOUTHAMPTON Airport has officially launched a year of celebrations planned for 2010 which will mark the centenary of flight in south Hampshire.

In 1910 pioneering pilot Edwin Rowland Moon flew his homemade Moonbeam II aircraft from the fields of North Stoneham Farm, now Southampton Airport, at a time when aviation was in its infancy. Among the proposed events now being finalised for next year is a flypast by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, which includes a Lancaster, Spitfire and Hurricane aircraft Jan Halliday, director of marketing and communications for Southampton Airport, said: “A century ago flying was a new exciting technology which drew crowds of spectators every time an aircraft took off.

“In 2010 we celebrate 100 years of flying at Southampton Airport. It resulted in the development of aviation and aerospace industry in this region.”