Mark Philips
Mark is a qualified drone pilot, instructor and technician at the Ripper Group. He was the pilot in charge of the world’s first drone rescue in surf at Lennox Head in January 2018.
Mark has worked in the drone industry for 4 years professionally and built and flown his own UAVs for over 10 years. He has worked in many areas of the industry including photogrammetry, lidar mapping, training and technical services. Before coming to the Ripper Group, Mark was the Chief Pilot for the Early Warning Network.
Dragan Skvaric
Dragan first joined the Ripper Group as a contractor for 18 months and is now part of the full-time team. He is a drone pilot/engineer with over 10 years’ experience in UAV/drone design, engineering and construction. Dragan entered into UAV design before they were commercially available when he saw the opportunity for their use in aerial photography where manned helicopters were impractical and expensive.
Born in Belgrade, Serbia, Dragan immigrated to Australia with his parents and sister in 1977 when he was 8 years old. He currently resides in Shellharbour on the South Coast of NSW and stays in Southport while working with the Ripper Group. In his spare time Dragan flies multi-rotors and fixed wing aircraft and rides his electric skateboard.