Come in with an alt advantage (I cruised around at about 12-15K) or a speed advantage (diving to the alt of the furball and coming in at 500 mph is okay to set up ropes)
Use the zoom- it's good. DON'T let it just hang up there, though. Once you get to the 100-150 range, the tnb crowd (spits, nikis, la's) will crawll up your bellybutton toot suite. Cubans are wicked effective in it.
Take the D11. Trust me. She's wicked stable, maneuverable as hell.
Take the light ammo load unless you're going buff hunting- this makes a real difference.
If you're going to a furball, don't take too much fuel (half a sector away is usually 25% and a drop tank for me)
If you wanna have some fun and REALLY surprise people, take the D-40 with the 6 gun light option and a minimum amount of fuel. It'll actually climb
Barrel rolls, zoom climbs, power dives, and turns only for shooting- that should be your mantra.
Oh and one more thing- you WILL NOT accelerate away from a bad position. You must dive. Set a "bust out" alt of 5,000 feet or more. Roll to the friendly horde, unload (0 g's), punch WEP, and get the rock outta dodge.