Although the airline industry is struggling and many carriers are cutting jobs, that hasn't dampened the enthusiasm of students at an aviation summer camp in Atlanta this month.

About 75 high school students are learning about careers as pilots, flight attendants and other jobs during the Aviation Career Education camps at Delta Air Lines' headquarters in Atlanta and at a separate Flight Line camp in Peachtree City. The aim of the free annual day camps offered by the Organization of Black Airline Pilots and sponsored by Delta is to increase diversity in commercial aviation, where fewer than 5 percent of pilots are women or African-American. The Atlanta camp sponsored by Delta since 1999 is one of a number of ACE camps around the country, and it's the only one sponsored by a major airline.

Renee Hannans Henry/rhannans@ajc.com (ENLARGE)

T.J. Johnson (left), a flight attendant, goes through raft-related emergency procedures at a day camp offered by the Organization of Black Airline Pilots and sponsored by Delta. The mission: increase diversity in aviation.

Renee Hannans Henry/rhannans@ajc.com (ENLARGE)

Nate Land (left) of Delta assists Jordan James, 14, with a landing in a Delta flight simulator at the Aviation Career Education camp. Of the number of ACE camps around the country, Delta's is the only one sponsored by a major airline.

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"That exposure [to pilot careers] is just not there," said Guy Stallworth, a Delta pilot and camp director. And flight training is lengthy and expensive. "You can't decide at the last minute you want to become a pilot," he said.

Entry to the ACE camps is competitive, with more than 2,000 students from around the country submitting applications for the spots. Standout students from the ACE camps compete for about 10 spots in a 2 1/2-week Flight Line camp the following year, where they get 15 hours of flight training and can become qualified to fly a plane solo.

On Wednesday, camp participants will make a "Dream Flight" from Atlanta to Houston on a Delta jet to visit NASA's Johnson Space Center. It will be the first time on a plane for some of the students, organizers said.

The ACE camps involve a week of lessons in aviation history, aerodynamics, meteorology, navigation, flight training and experiences in flight simulators and tours at Delta's headquarters.

To the pilots who volunteer to teach at the camps, the summer experience is a chance for the students to catch the "aviation bug." Not everyone does, but at least a few of the students go on to become pilots, said camp adviser and retired Delta pilot J. Bailey.

"I got bit by the bug at a young age, just being around airplanes," said Jerome Wellons, 23, a pilot for Atlantic Southeast Airlines who attended the ACE camp in 2001 when he was 16. "These kids — a lot of them have the same desire I had when I was their age."

At the same time, said Bailey, "we try to be realistic and tell them this industry is cyclical — you have up periods and down periods."

With many airlines furloughing pilots in recent years and the industry in a crisis driven by high oil prices, the camp directors encourage students to have a backup plan.

They stress behaviors and skills like being prompt, showing initiative, working well with others, being a good citizen and being educated, Stallworth said.

The students also learn about a range of careers in aviation. While most kids are familiar with the jobs of pilots, flight attendants and mechanics, they don't think of jobs in aviation for engineers, dispatchers, managers and others, Bailey said.

Nikita Murphy, a 17-year-old student at North Gwinnett High School, came to the camp with aspirations to become an aviation mechanic.

"I'm a very hands-on person, and I've always had a passion for airplanes," Murphy said. While at the camp, "I found out how fun flying can be and I actually like it a lot right now. ... In the future, I want to get a private pilots license."