Edwin Rowland Moon (8 June 1886 – 29 April 1920), possibly inspired by the 1903 Wright brothers flight, took a corner of the workshop of the Moon family owned a boat-building business to realise his dream of constructing and flying an aircraft of his own design.
He tested his first plane, Moonbeam I, in the Fawley area, near the home of his future bride. His first short “hop” took place on Websters Field at Ower Farm, near Calshot and at Moulands Field, Regents Park. Following these test flights on the prototype plane, he built a second plane, Moonbeam II.
He made the first successful flight; the precise date of the first flight is not known, although researchers believe that it was between 12 April 1910 and 11 June 1910.
Following the start of World War I, Moon soon enlisted in the Royal Naval Air Service. On 29 April 1920, Moon was at the controls of a flying boat on an instructional cruise when it crashed into the sea. Moon and three other crew members were killed.
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