I absolutely expected this to be much smaller and much cheaper. To me, a Freelancer-scale ship is not a starter ship. It's your first real step into the multicrew ship world. I'm not saying I'm not gonna buy it, but I'll have to see what it looks like first.
regardless of the accuracy of this accusation, I'm totally going to use this as an excuse for why I suck so badly at dogfighting. Not my lack of practice or shaky hand-eye coordination or elevated BAC, nooo.
Welcome to TEST! You can also always crew someone else's ship as a way to make money and buy the ships in-game. That's the best route if you don't want to spend more money on ships... but c'mon, who doesn't like spending money on ships?