...thanks to Brady Games, things have gotten a tad bit easier.  If you're a n00b who bought the game a couple days ago for $30 (like yours truly), you can skip to the head of the class by checking out this video tutorial BG produced for new pilots.  What I can say is that flying is a bit of an art when you're facing what seems to be a swarm of Mavericks and Icemen who coldly prevent you from really doing anything in the game because you're horrible at it and they're so not.

*barrel rolls into oblivion*