Dozens of area youth took advantage of the Experimental Aircraft Association’s Young Eagles program Saturday at the Nevada County Airport, getting airtime and fulfilling efforts to get more young people interested in a career in flying.

“There’s a lot of push for young people in aviation,” retired flight instructor Ronald Alvesal said during the event. “The aviation industry is running out of pilots.”

Prior to getting in the air though the youngsters must first learn the basics of airplane flight and are given an around the plane safety walk through.

While in the cockpit they are shown the seatbelts and instrument panel and if the pilot allows, the youth are sometimes allowed to take control of the plane while in flight.

The Experimental Aircraft Association is also distributing scholarships to kids in order to help push more youth towards a career in aviation.

“There is literally a shortage of 200,000 pilots world wide,” EAA Safety Officer Bruce Marlow said.