+1 on original idea, if you can get perks in a bomber for damaging a building but not actually destroying it, you should be able to get perks in a fighter for damaging an enemy even if you don't ultimately destroy them.
That said, I think the number of perks awarded should be small, unless you did a significant amount of damage (i.e. killing the enemy's engine, his radiator, removing part of a wing).
So you want to be rewarded with points for landing a few non-critical hits on a con, deciding for whatever reason that you can't shoot him down or he out maneuvers you and is now trying to shoot you down, 5 minutes later you are busy with another con and someone else finishes the job on the first con for you.
What an amazing idea, we could all collect points without ever having to actually work for them. 
NOT
The logic fails in this post are too big for me to even bother pointing them out.
It sounds like a sure fire way to reward horde behavior to me. Well that and the shoot the one winged tailess
enemy on his way to the ground. Going to have to go thumbs down.
Hoarding is going to happen whether you get perks for kill assists or not. If your average player sees a nearby enemy being chased by a friendly, they're going to go after them whatever happens. Giving perk rewards for landing hits won't change this. Also, if the number of perks given for an assist varies depending on what parts you destroy, then your last point won't be an issue.
