GRAND FORKS (AP) - High school senior Taylor Felice checked dials and knobs on a small, single-engine Piper Warrior airplane at Grand Forks International Airport, preparing to log some of his first hours of flight in thick clouds and gusty winds.

The weather was part of his lesson. Felice would be flying through clouds, relying on the airplane's instruments and, of course, the guidance of his flight instructor to navigate, to learn instrument flight rules.

"You guys are kind of trusting," Felice said with excited, wide eyes. "You've never seen us do anything like this before."

Felice, of Oradell, N.J., was among 27 teenagers attending the University of North Dakota's 24th annual International Aerospace Camp last week. The camp allows 16- and 17-year-old students to learn about careers in the aviation industry, mostly through actual flight time behind the control stick of an airplane.

Students fly a "cross-country" trip to various cities in North Dakota, take a night flight and even get an acrobatics lesson trying some loops and spins. They also experience flight simulators, learn about air traffic control and meteorology and tour Grand Forks Air Force Base.

"They get a little taste of everything we do here," said Laura Hazelton, one of about a dozen UND instructors accompanying students on flights Tuesday.

"We try to let them fly as much as possible," she said. "I'm right there on the controls with them.

Each student received a log book to earn about five hours of flight time by the end of the week.

Students at this year's camp include teenagers from Minnesota, New York, Washington, California and Texas, according to Ken Polovitz, assistant dean of UND's John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Studies.

One is from North Dakota - from Lakota, he said. In the past, students have come from as far away as England, Germany, France and Japan.

"Most come with very limited flying experience," Polovitz said. "We occasionally have some that never have been in an airplane before, big or small."

The demand for both UND's aerospace camp and the aviation industry in general is high, Polovitz said.

Even though the camp costs about $1,000, it filled up in March. Some applicants were put on a waiting list, said Polovitz.

Junior Joe Donovan said he heard about the aerospace camp from a friend who works at a private airport in Columbus, Ohio, where he lives. Donovan wants to be a pilot, and his career outlook looks good.

"It's definitely a good time to be in aviation," Polovitz said. "The opportunities are very good."

There's a shortage of flight instructors at UND and other aviation schools across the nation because the airline industry has been hiring them away, he said.

"It used to be that you had to stick around and be a flight instructor for two or three years before anyone would even look at you," he said. "Now, we have students graduating that get right out and get a job."

About 40 percent of students who attend the camp have enrolled at UND's aerospace program in recent years, Polovitz said. The camp is like real college but without the tests, he said.

"We don't call it a recruiting thing, but many are using it to take a look at UND and certainly the aviation program," he said. "About half of them are gung-ho."

In recent years, the number of students interested in air traffic control has been increasing, Polovitz said. Other popular interests are becoming a commercial airline pilot or joining the U.S. Air Force.

Camille Moore, a senior from Waconia, Minn., was one of two girls attending the camp. Until this week, her aviation experience was limited to riding on a commercial airplane, she said.

"I've always been interested in going into the aviation business," Moore said. "I just wanted to come here and get some flying experience and see what I want to do with it."