They’re easy to fly once you get the hang of it with a little help from the Rogue Valley Windchasers

Parents, maybe you’ve been here before — a crumpled $2 drugstore kite on the ground in front of you, a crying child at your side.

Do kites really fly? And if they do, is it worth the effort to get them into the sky?

Yes, and yes, say area members of the Rogue Valley Windchasers (www.windchasers.org), a 150-member group devoted to such lofty pursuits.

Ashland resident Bruce Ostovar, a Windchasers member who has flown kites with his fifth-grader, Nathan, since the pair visited a kite festival in Brookings three years ago, says kite flying is a great family activity.

That’s even though his first attempts at the sport didn’t quite fly.

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"The first time Nathan and I saw a two-line kite, we were wondering how they do it, so we bought a kite without knowing much and we couldn’t pick it up from the ground," said Ostovar with a laugh.

There are better ways to get into the sport, say Ostovar and J.D. Fabich, a Rogue River 17-year-old who competes in kite-flying tournaments around the state.

Start, they say, with a good, single-line kite, choose an open site and understand that wind is a necessity. Here are their tips:

Buy a kite: Plastic drugstore models may beckon at coastal shops, but real kites are made of rip-stop nylon, say Fabich and Ostovar. Locally, a handful of hobby shops carry such kites, the pair say. Kites are also widely available online. Ostovar likes the Beetle stunt kite, a sturdy model that sells for about $40. Beginners, the pair suggest, should choose single-line kites rather than the more complicated dual-line models.

Find a good location: The coast is always good when it’s windy, but a handful of sites in the Rogue Valley also offer fliers good options, the pair say.

Ostovar and his son use large sports fields, such as those at Fichtner-Mainwaring Park in Medford. Fabich likes the fields at Redwood School in Grants Pass.

Wait for the weather: Don’t even try to fly a kite when it’s raining. And even when it’s clear, the wind has to be right. Ideal wind speeds, say Fabich and Ostovar, are 5-12 mph. The faster the wind, the heavier the kite required. Kite flying is possible in slow wind — under 5 mph — with some patience and a lightweight kite.

"I think people are turned off by kites because they think they’re hard to fly or don’t know about them," said Fabich.

But in reality, he says, kite-flying is a simple sport that gets more interesting as the flier gains skills and learns new techniques.

"If they do it right," he promised, "they’ll be hooked."

Buffy Pollock is a freelance writer living in Medford. E-mail her at buffypollock@juno.com.

Learn more this weekend

The festival draws fliers from around the country performing choreographed kite stunts.

It’s set at Taft High School, 3780 S.E. Spyglass Ridge, two blocks east of Highway 101, and runs through 5 p.m. Sunday. Cost is $2 per person or $5 per family.

In addition to indoors and outdoor kite-flying exhibitions, experts will offer tips and tricks for beginners and kite-making for kids.

For a compete list of activities, call the Lincoln City Visitor & Convention Bureau at 800-452-2151 or visit www.oregoncoast.org.

Some kite-flying basics