Kites aren't just toys

Grown-up sports enthusiasts can harness the wind

Kites allow their fliers to see wind.

Corey Jensen, a 38-year kite-flying veteran, learned how to play and see the wind as a 12-year-old living on the Oregon coast. Now, as the manager of WindPower Sports, he passes his passion and emotional look at kites to fliers new and old.

Since his father wouldn't let him fly anything that required leaving the ground, kites were the natural substitution for Jensen.

"It was a little piece of aerial sculpture that would last for the day we were playing on the beach," Jensen said. "I realized I wasn't looking at ripples of fabric. I could see the wind."

Jensen's spiritual look at flying kites has earned him the name "the Corey-lama" from fellow fliers. They come from Nevada and surrounding states to WindPower Sports, 3111 S. Valley View Blvd., to fix their gear, tell stories and hear tales from Jensen.

Tim Wright travels from Hurricane, Utah, located about 130 miles northwest of Las Vegas, to visit with Jensen and fly kites in neighborhood parks. Jensen says the kite community is a small one "spread out all over the world."

"I fly anywhere I can," Wright said. "Anywhere there is enough wind, I'll stop and put a kite in the air."

"In the kite world, there's a passion for the sport," Jensen added. "It's not about the tools. It's about the passion and the game that we play."

There's more to kites than the $3 toy at the local grocery store, although the kites with Pokemon characters and Harry Potter drawn on them can fly just right in a light wind. An evolution of kite flying has led to kites pulling buggies, snowboards, surfboards and skateboards, some reaching 60 mph.

There are the expensive kites -- a two-line sport kite can run around $200 -- and the less expensive. Jensen says a nylon kite of decent quality can cost about $10. There's a place for everyone in the sport, depending on what they want to fly and what they want to get out of it, Jensen said.

"Kite flying gives parents and kids something they can do as equals. Parents have to work as hard as the kids do," Jensen said. "(They are) works of art that fly. It's not about the stuff. It's what you do with the stuff."

April is National Kite Flying Month, and Jensen is working together with other kite fliers to get kite flying away from Ben Franklin and into the public consciousness. Flying a kite can be lonely, unless you want it to be, Jensen said. Parks are good places to fly kites and learn about the sport and techniques from other kite fliers.

One common misconception among inexperienced kite fliers is to hit the park, line in hand, when the wind is gusty. A kite will loop and crash to the ground, leaving the flier with an unfulfilled experience. Manipulating a kite to perform loops and stunts in a light wind is more fun than watching it hover, Jensen said.

"When the wind is blowing hard, you're a kite anchor, and there's nothing to do," Jensen said. Sunset, with wind at about 12 mph, is the best for families. "The lighter the wind, the more things you are to do. You're using the kite to play with the wind."

There's no age to begin flying a kite and no age to end. Jensen has seen a child as young as age 2 fly a two-line kite. Southwest-area resident Shawn Mullin started flying at age 8. He graduated from Rancho High School's aerospace magnet program in 2002 and recently earned his pilot's license at age 19.

"It got me looking up," he said.

Flying a kite as a kid bypassed Wright, who didn't pick up a line until age 22. He took to the air when problems on the ground were too difficult to handle.

"It gives me a wonderful way to deal with things, so they don't gnaw on me," Jensen said. "It sounds so trite, but if you let it, it really works. You can't be afraid to make mistakes."

A mistake kite fliers make is not learning or researching enough before they venture out into the extreme sports kite flying provides. Gliding on the water of Lake Mead or along the surface of a dry lake bed can be dangerous if the flier doesn't understand the logistics, Jensen said.

"If you don't do it right, you die and you drown," he said. "(But) you're allowed to make mistakes. If a piece breaks, you fix it."

On a spring afternoon, Wright and Mullin stopped by WindPower Sports to see Jensen. Wright was there to fix a kite. Mullin never gave his reason for stopping by. Maybe it was to listen to the tales of the "Corey-lama."

To Jensen, walk-in sales aren't as important as talking to kite fliers and sharing information and stories. He does about 80 percent of his business on the Internet, selling inventory to fliers all over the world. As long as his customers' "hearts are filled," he's happy, Jensen said.

"The sales take care of themselves," he said. "I push kiting."

National Kite Month began at the end of March and runs through the beginning of May. Those interested in kite flying, safety, educational materials, history or events, can visit the Web site for National Kite Month at www.nationalkitemonth.org.


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