Mark Wharry joins Martek Aviation

Martek Aviation has announced the official appointment of highly-acclaimed aviation expert Mark Wharry as their Head of Aviation.  Mark brings over 20 years of unparalleled aviation experience to Martek, in both high-profile leadership and training roles.

The drone industry is booming and Martek is the driving force behind the most disruptive and talked about UAS technology that’s taking the market by storm! The appointment of Mark fulfils a crucial element of Martek’s strategy, which will help to cement them as world leaders in unmanned aerial services.

Mark began his flying career as a Qualified Flying Instructor with the RAF, training students going through the RAF’s Basic Fast Jet Training course. He was later selected to fly Tornado GR4 aircraft and flew his first front-line missions from RAF Lossiemouth.  His time there took him on detachments across the world, including combat missions flown in Afghanistan.

Mark then volunteered to fly the MQ-9 Reaper and was sent to train alongside the US Air Force.  Soon, his academic, technical and instructional knowledge resulted in his posting to the senior position of Officer Commanding Standards and Evaluation for the RAF MQ-9 Reaper force.  He was the RAF’s most highly-qualified Reaper SME, working to develop safety, regulation and training standards. He was seconded to the Central Flying School, as its first-ever unmanned examiner and became the first OFI to reach an “A” grade qualification as a UAS instructor.

On leaving the RAF, Mark worked as an aviation consultant on projects ranging from examining Small Unmanned Air System pilots to designing training syllabi for nations procuring military RPAS. During this phase, he prided himself on being able to fly, instruct, examine and work with unmanned aircraft from 500g to 5000kgs!  He has also advised governments on the development of UAS regulation, contributed to multi-million US dollar bids, and sat as a member of working groups into UAS standards for the British Standards Institute.

Mark has been a specialist in UAS at all levels, with a particular focus on training, safety and regulation, for almost a decade. His experience ranges from teaching air law to people with no aviation experience to advising on training and operations relating to the most complex systems in the world today.

“I am delighted to join Martek Aviation who are pioneering high-end UAS services at this exciting time for the unmanned industry. With a strong operational background and excellent safety and quality processes behind us, I look forward to building a professional team who can deliver best in world unmanned operations. As the sector continues to develop, we will be superbly placed to take advantage of the opportunities and become industry leaders; in service provision, operations, and training” says Mark.