Some ships have a little more cargo space than others, some turn a little better than others, some have a slightly better power plant, others have slightly heavier armour, or a better mount point for the rear turret.
But for every ship in the game there are other ships that fly pretty much the same. So if you have flown one of the light fighters, one of the heavy fighters, a freighter and a VHF, then you have flown them all. You could even fly all of them the same way and never know much difference.
Except for the Humpback. It is unique.
Imagine this; you are alone. In a Starflier. In Omega-41. How would YOU feel? Bad? Radiated? Like you've just been ran in a microwave oven for an hour?
Imagine you are in a Starflier. You have two Justice Mk I, the class 1 graviton shield, 3 nanos and 3 batts. You also have a Zoners reputation and 1 million credits.
Your current location is planet Gammu.