A century ago, if you wanted to move lollipops from here to there, horse-drawn wagons were going to be involved in the process.
In mid-August, when it came to transporting some Dum-Dums from Catawba Island State Park to South Bass Island, a drone was called on for the job.
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Courtesy of Spangler Candy Co.Pramod Abichandani and Cody Kowalski receive the Dum-Dum lollipops delivery on Put-in-Bay.Called “Operation Lollipop Drop,” the 17-minute-17-second journey in the early afternoon of Aug. 16 was a key element of a drone-certification program at the
Liberty Aviation Museum, on the grounds of the
Erie-Ottawa International Airport in Port Clinton. according to a news release from Bryan, Ohio-based Dum-Dum maker
Spangler Candy Co. Running Aug. 14 through 16, the program was taught by Pramod Abichandani, founder of the company
LocoRobo. The endeavor was a partnership between the airport, the museum and the company, the release states.
Abichandani sought to teach the five students – from high schools in Port Clinton, Put-in-Bay, Sandusky, Perkins Township and Marblehead – about how the forces of thrust, drag, weight and lift act on drones, the release states. He also detailed how to pilot various types of drones, education on safety regulations and what information must be submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Designed by Abichandani based on FAA regulations, the program prepared the students to take the FAA exam, available at the Bowling Green Flight Center.
Rose Fanning, who long has been interested in aviation due in part to having a grandfather who was a pilot, was one of the participants.
“My passion was just planes,’ she says in the release. “Now I want to get a drone and start a business as a side gig.”
The package of Dum-Dums – which arrived safely at the South Bass Island Lighthouse and after the drone was monitored by a chase boat captained by Nikolai Blumensaadt in case of an issue – had been donated by Spangler, which bought the Dum-Dums brand in 1953 from the Akron Candy Co., the release states.
“It’s really neat to be a part of this, to help celebrate 100 years of Dum-Dums and this new technology that’s going to change the world,” says Bill Martin, president of Spangler, in the release. “We jumped at the opportunity. I mean, they could’ve picked anything to take across on this inaugural flight. We feel very privileged they chose us.”