WONZ 322 – Mark O’Sullivan

Guest: Mark O’Sullivan

Host: Dave Homewood

Recorded: 17th of April 2025

Published: 26th of April 2025

Duration: 1 hour 26 minutes, 42 seconds

In this episode Dave Homewood sits down with warbirds pilot Mark O’Sullivan at Omaka to talk about his aviation passion. Mark was born and bred in Blenheim, and he learned to fly with the Marlborough Aero Club at Omaka Aerodrome. His desire to fly warbirds had been sparked when he was a kid and saw Robbie Booth flying his Sea Fury at an airshow at Woodbourne.

Mark talks about getting into flying the Tiger Moth and Nanchang in the local syndicate, and then he progressed onto flying Harvards, with Frank Parker in Harvard NZ1065 (ZK-ENF) from Ardmore, and the local Omaka-based ex-SAAF Harvard II, 7660, ZK-XSA. He then had the opportunity to purchase 7660, and this Harvard became the basis of what would later become the basis of his collection.

He also owns a Cessna C185F which he calls the family wagon, which he uses to go places with his wife Kate and children George and Mila.

Mark also purchased the ex-Wanaka “Red Bull” Pitts S-2B Special, which he rebuilt himself and got it flying again as ZK-STX. He now flies it for fun, and he has been working up New Zealand’s first Pitts Special formation display team with Andy Love, Lincoln Jones and Ross Brodie. This is a great up-and-coming team to watch out for at airshows in the future.

And perhaps Mark’s best known an most loved aeroplane is the Yakovlev Yak-3U “Steadfast”, ZK-YOV, the small fighter with the big radial engine, and the awesome smoke trails that form rings and shapes in the sky. Mark initially owned Steadfast in partnership with fellow Omaka resident Ronan Harvey, but recently Ronan sold his share to another partner. Mark displays Steadfast at warbirds airshows around the country and has wowed audiences at airshows such as Classic Fighters, Warbirds Over Wanaka, Wings Over Wairarapa, and recently also Ardmore’s Warbirds On Parade open day.

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Mark O’Sullivan taking off in Yak-3U Steadfast during Warbirds Over Wanaka 2024. Mark O’Sullivan and his Pitts Special ZK-STX, with his Cessna 185 and the syndicate Tiger Moth that he learned taildragger flying in behind. Mark’s Harvard ZK-XSA. Mark and his Cessna C185F. The Yak 3U ‘Steadfast’, in Ronan Harvey’s hangar. The cockpits in Mark’s Pitts S-2B Special, ZK-STX. Another shot of the Harvard in Mark’s hangar.

A selection of photos of Mark in Steadfast taken at Warbirds Over Wanaka 2024 by Dave Homewood