I loved my cobra as much as these pricks here (Kharma, Tor etc...) hated it. Could have been the colour and the spoilers...
It's a nifty little ride for learning to fly in. I'm not talking taking off and landing, but for getting into scrapes, learning to deal with interdiction, that sorta stuff.
Thing to remember is it's the equivalent of a bike with the training wheels on: it's a baby steps ship. And if you're still flying one, you've yet to figure out what you like doing in the game. There are two schools of thought: your jack of all trades, master of none ship (Python, Asp X etc) and your specialised, built-for-purpose rides: vulture, Type 10 whatever.
Until you know what you want to get into, you won't know which type of ship suits. Which means you won't be racking up the hours just getting good at it. For sure, you'll be able to justify owning lots and lots of ships, but you'll eventually find one that you just work well with, and the only way to find that one is to keep trying them all out.
A further note about flying different ships, though - DO try them all, but DO give them all time. ED is a surprisingly subtle game, and each ship handles differently. Challenge yourself to not just try them all, but to get competent at them all: what you struggle to adjust to at first might end up being The One for you. By all means, specialise in your whatever favourite bird is, but you'll be an overall better pilot if you expand your experience in all the ships.
Sorry. Lecturey.
Have fun, fly lots. Booze and friends help.
Here's my little motherfucker:
