Have you had any lessons as yet

Here we go.
You have done alot of research on Kiting then.

Yes. Those products will be fine for a beginner. Any newish kites are fine and any board any age is fine for a beginner. You won't know what kite suits you best until you really know the sport and have ridden a few.

The essential thing is you must must must get lessons or else you and other beach users will get hurt. (probably sooner rather than later). knowing the wind from wind surfing will help a little but that doesn't really give you any head start as far as kite control goes. In the beginning stages there is actually a **** load to learn before you can kite safely.

Get lessons from an instructor you trust and you'll be on your way. Even after lessons you will still be far safer going with a mate who can help you out for a while.

Good luck man. Its an awesome sport. Keeping mind though that sitting in a rocking chair is probably much safer even when you lean right back

Dont take any notice of the TOOL comment. Allot of guys on this forum think there gods gift to kiting and have little or no tact when it comes to talking to new guys asking questions. Yes your question is asked almost every day but if you go to a reputable shop, buy or rent a trainer kite, spend enough time on it to the point that you can tie your shoe laces while flying it, then get enough lessons to get you confident to go out on your own, You and your instructor will know how many you need, Then i would look at buying your first kite for kite surfing. Dont rush into it as you could end up spending allot of money only to get disappointed with your choice. Thats where a good instructor should be able to help you. Good luck

Don't worry deeeblue, most of the lads on the beach are over 40, its a sport you can really appreciate as you get older, I don't know anyone who is too old for kiting, come up to any kite surfer on the beach and have a chat, we are all pretty friendly and always willing to give advice, we all started in the same place. Welcome to kiting.

Hi deeeblue. I'm also over 40 and on the GC. I have had a few lessons, but I will probably have one or two more just to get a bit more comfortable on my own. What they say about kite control is true; it's 90% of kiteboarding, so it pays to practice, practice, practice...