WONZ 342 – Mark Hillier

Guest: Mark Hillier Hosts: Dave Homewood Recorded: 6th of January 2026 Released: 13th of January 2026 Duration:  1 hour 33 minutes 35 seconds In this Wings Over New Zealand Show episode Dave Homewood speaks with Mark Hillier, who is a recreational pilot, a historian, an author and he is Head of Operations at Spitfires.com, the adventure rides company based at Goodwood Aerodrome, Westhampnett, in West Sussex, UK. Mark discusses his background in aviation, and talks about Spitfires.com and their fleet of aircraft. That includes three two-seaters plus the Silver Spitfire that flew around the world. He also talks about his passion for aviation history, the many books hat he has written, and the veterans he has met along the way. And he talks about his close connection to the late RAF groundcrew veteran Joe Roddis, who served on No. 485 (NZ) Squadron through that unit’s whole existence. No. 485 (NZ) Squadron’s time based at Westhampnett is also detailed, and also a little history of other squadrons based there and at the nearby RAF Tangmere, which Westhampnett was a satellite airfield to. Quick Links: • Mark Hiller’s website • Spitfires.com • Mark’s books on Amazon • Mark’s books at Pen and Sword •  Goodwood Aerodrome (Formerly RAF Westhampnett) •  RAF Westhampnett on Wikipedia Above Left: The late Joe Roddis. Centre: The book by Joe and Mark. Right: Mark with his RAF Tangmere 100 Objects book. The music at the end of this episode is Wild Flower by Joachim Karud.