Brian J. Payne
Airport Director
Columbus Municipal Airport
Age: 37
- Alma Mater: BS from Indiana State University, MS from Southeastern Oklahoma State University
- Favorite Aircraft: B17
- Favorite Book: Gary Vaynerchuk – Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook (really all of his books)
- Favorite TV Show: Seinfeld
- Favorite Movie: Apollo 13
- Favorite Hobbies: Construction, Travel, Volunteering
Brian Payne, a native of Rockport, Indiana, has worked his way around the Hoosier state in pursuit of his aviation career. He spent two summers interning at the Evansville Regional Airport and one summer as intern for the INDOT Office of Aviation before earning his B.S. in aerospace administration from Indiana State University in 2003. He finished his M.S. in aerospace administration at Southeastern Oklahoma State University a year later.
Payne then became airport manager at Michigan City Municipal Airport, where he created the first airport emergency plan, organized seminars for emergency responders, prepared for a runway extension and designed and funded a new terminal building. He managed Michigan City for four years, which culminated in receiving the Aviation Association of Indiana’s Airport of the Year award in 2007.
For Payne, development and master planning are the two things he’s most excited about in his current job as airport director of Columbus Municipal Airport. “I have 2,700 acres that are home to more than 60 non-aviation businesses, including higher education institutions, student housing, medical complexes and technology businesses,” he said. “It’s the concept of an aerotropolis, but it isn’t branded as that.”
Payne is passionate about internships, having hired 39 of them in his career. “My internships in school helped mould me into the manager that I am today. When I was at Evansville Regional Airport, I could sit with our director and pick his brain,” he said. “My director always said he wasn’t the smartest guy and he didn’t always know the answers, but he always knew who to call. It’s all about good connections.”
In Payne’s view of the future of aviation, it’s all about growing the pilot population. “Locally, we’re trying to figure out how to work with the state and our local community college to get scholarships under workforce readiness programs,” he said. “We want to get more youth interested in flying and show them that becoming a pilot is a goal they can attain. It’s a great job, and this is a way we can help curb the pilot shortage.”
