Pizza pilot flies pies to island from ‘mainland’ in Ohio

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — College students and pizza delivery have long been a match made in heaven.

But it’s safe to say that even the most veteran delivery drivers haven’t completed orders quite the way Bowling Green State University student Robby Quinn has.

Mr. Quinn, a junior studying flight technology operations and a native of Kelleys Island, Ohio, made himself a Domino’s driver of sorts, albeit with a different method of delivery: by airplane.

Mr. Quinn has been around aviation all of his life. He took his first plane ride at 3 days old; obtained his private pilot’s license just months after graduating from St. Mary Central Catholic High School in Sandusky, Ohio; and joked that he can’t help but refer to the rest of the world as “the mainland.”

Getting to and from the island is a challenge and outside food options are few, so he went through with the idea of delivering food via a short flight over Lake Erie. “The concept of being able to get hot pizza from the mainland is really exciting,” he said.

Mr. Quinn has documented the pizza trips as well as his other piloting adventures through a TikTok account, @islandpilot, that has drawn millions of viewers.

Mr. Quinn said he borrowed the pizza idea from his father, who used to make the flight to and from Kelleys Island for work daily.

After his first pizza delivery by air, Domino’s outfitted Mr. Quinn with a jacket and a delivery driver sign. The only trouble he has had was sizing the first order — Mr. Quinn wasn’t sure how many pizzas he needed and asked the restaurant for consultation.