OGDEN — Brian Condie is now the captain at Ogden-Hinckley Airport and he’s bringing nearly three decades of aviation management experience with him.

Though officially taking over his duties as Ogden’s airport director at the beginning of the week, Condie was welcomed with an open house Thursday afternoon, allowing airport stakeholders and the public a chance to get to know him.

Condie told the Standard-Examiner he’s long had an interest in aviation, both administratively and in a more hands-on manner.

“I started flying helicopters in San Diego,” he said. “It’s very expensive, so I decided then to go into aviation management, finished my pilot’s license, went to Utah State to their aviation program, graduated from there and was offered a job at Salt Lake International Airport.”

He served at Salt Lake City International Airport from 1996-2002 before taking the airport director position at Rifle Garfield County Airport in Rifle, Colorado — a position he held until this year when the Ogden airport director job ended up on his radar.

“When I saw this job come open, I researched it and thought it would be a great fit for my experience and talents,” he said. “The airport that I was at, it was the end of an era. We’d done everything there. The commissioners were leaving, so I’d been looking around at other airport jobs and this one came open. I talked to the FAA, I talked to airport consultants, I talked to the previous manager about the position and what was needed, I read the state legislative report on the airport and thought, ‘You know what, I can help address these issues and make the airport a better place.'”

Condie said he has several duties going forward as airport director, including helping to create primary guiding documents for the direction of the airport as well as creating primary compliance documents making sure the airport complies with safety rules and other regulations.

“It also includes marketing, public relations, finding money/grants for projects, capital improvements,” he said. “It’s very busy and very broad.”

Over the last few years, Ogden-Hinckley Airport has seen issues regarding hangars and questions about how best to operate.

Condie said these issues aren’t unique to Ogden, but he aims to rebuild the trust of airport stakeholders and the public in the facility.

“The issues at this airport are at every airport,” he said. “It’s just a matter of communicating and coming up with the direction of the elected officials, which is to promote and protect light general aviation, promote economic growth and promote commercial service. All three of those are going to function together; that’s my goal. … The airport is going to be a positive, happy place to be and we’re all going to get along in a safe aviation community.”

He said that, ultimately, Ogden-Hinckley Airport works for everyone.

“The airport is here to service the residents of Northern Utah,” he said. “However that works, that’s what we’re going to do.”