Newbie —- requestin help

Alright lads and lasses,
I’m new to the game and i aint got far but i keep hittin the same problem.
When ever i get to Touchdown and meet that person from the Stepsons its all fine, but during the dogfight that follows I always last a good 5 minutes but then end in a fiery ball of fire and heat and fire. I get a good few hits in on the enemies, but their missiles just rip right through me….

U guys got any tips on the weapons I should use or on how I should have the shield, weapon, engine ratio (in engineerin menu screen).
Any help gratefully recieved.

TA6 = Captain Fantastic
PV4 = Captain Fantastique