Very tanky, lots of nice DPS, but its probably going to be a bit sluggish to balance it out.
Still worth the $15k for the black and gold :D
I suspect it will be at least as drifty through the turns as the Sabre, and perhaps as much as the Vanguard, but the shield refresh should be way past either. I think CIG will want to make it the go-to just because they'll sell more SQ42 that way. It won't surprise me if it becomes the meta for serious combat pilots.
I don't get the shield lock-down. Mirage's would give you an extra 1k shield and 300 refresh. I don't like the lockdown as it violates again the notion that all ships can be customized. Didn't CIG learn their lesson with the past stipulation that the Vanguard nose guns couldn't be changed? Players hate that.
BTW, look at the afterburner speed. This whip has tricks.