Airplane pilots of the future are getting their start in the sky courtesy of help from a Northland company.

Dave Anderson tells us how.

Greg Thompson of Fairfax, Virginia is in Duluth to take delivery of his new Cirrus airplane.

Thompson is getting the expensive SR20 free of charge.

He won it at the Experimental Aircraft Association convention in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Supporting the EAA is important to the folks at Cirrus.

"We got started with EAA growing up and going to the convention in Oshkosh. They've been a big part of our life and our career." said Dale Klapmeier, founder of Cirrus.

Cirrus donated the plane to the EAA for a fundraiser that supports the "Young Eagle" program which gets kids interested in flying.

"Getting kids into aviation and learning to fly, that's what this plane is for." said Klapmeier.

According to Cirrus founder Dale Klapmeier, Northland kids can find out how to become a "young eagle" by going to an airport.

"The simplest way is to go to Monaco Air or Skyharbor or Superior to Bong Field. Go in and talk to someone about flying." advises Klapmeier.

Klapmeir says that may someday lead to a career in the booming aviation industry.

In Duluth, Dave Anderson, the Northland's News Center.

The EAA Young Eagles program was launched in 1992 to give interested young people, ages 8 - 17, an opportunity to go flying in a general aviation airplane. These flights are offered free of charge and are made possible through the generosity of EAA member volunteers.

Since 1992, more than 1.3 million Young Eagles have enjoyed a flight through the program. Young Eagles have been registered in more than 90 different countries and have been flown by more than 41,000 volunteer pilots