I feel cool in a stinger. Ill probably get that, but I still dont know what faction i want to join with it. Most pirates are in GB's now a days... Well, at least on my trade routes.
The Stinger is an excellent ship. One of my favorites. My Freelancer flies one, actually.
As to what pirates fly, don't worry about it. If the Transport pilot is smart, he'll realize that the Transports are balanced against fighting Gunboats, and so he'll have those awesome 2.00 or 1.00 Transport guns to kill Gunboats with. If he is smart, he'll also have an Armor VIII Universal Armor Upgrade. But, what does that mean? It means that you just have to supplement his damage a little bit and you can best a Gunboat.
True story: I've killed more GBs in a fighter than in a Bomber. Fighters are actually much better against Gunboats than, well, everything smaller than a Gunboat except Freighters. They're fast, so they can dodge, and if they aren't targeted, they can dish out a semi-constant stream of damage that really can't be ignored, at least, it can be until it's too late to figure out that you've been targeting the wrong person. A lot of fights I've been in have resulted in a bomber landing just about 2 SNs on a Gunboat while I basically killed it slowly while being ignored or a Transport dodges and focuses on living versus a Gunboat while pretending to fight it (Shoot sometimes) and I kill it slowly. But, of course, that's just me.
Oh, yeah, and 3 Fighters killing a Cruiser or Gunboat has to be one of the most fun things I've ever done...
[8:32:45 PM] Dusty Lens: Oh no, let me get that. Hello? Oh it's my grandma. She says to be roleplay.
[12:49:19 AM] Elgatodiablo: You know its nice that you have all that proof and all, Bacon... but I just don't believe you.
Cam, getting bored with battleships... this is hard to believe.
I'll give it a week before he goes back to capwhoring and sells the fighter out of frustration =P
Anyways... the eagle is probably the best all around fighter you can get. Class 10 guns, however, are highly overrated - most codenames are worse in pvp than faction class 9's, especially if your faction has access to faster projectile speed guns to make aiming easier.
If you want a lot of practice, you're going to have to stick to one of the houses, unfortunately - probably liberty. I'd say either go for liberty navy, rogues, or bounty hunter. All three have good weapons available, and fairly good ships - the navy's guardian/avenger are well balanced, the rogue VHF's are a bit slow but have more power and armor, and the BHG's manta is quicker than the others, but cant take as much damage.
Pick a faction you want to play... use that factions fighter. It doesn't really matter, most fighters when you get down to it all work the same way. There are a few exceptions.