[Vehicle] Skyguard Tips?

Find a vehicle zerg and stick near it. Next find an area where your back is covered by something and in front of you is wide open area (you can find these areas everywhere). Wait till they start their attack run (libs sometimes pull up or start to orbit, ESFs usually dive, valkyries are no issue, and galaxies are usually too far to do anything significant.)

Get a good idea of target profiles at different ranges (ex: ESFs at 200m, 600m, 800m etc.) so you can get an idea on lead times. It helps to also know the average speed of an air vehicle, as well as where it is heading (ex: away from you, towards you, to the left, is just barrel rolling aimlessly etc.). The skyguard has a 400 m/s velocity, so at 800m you have to plan to shoot where your target is gonna be 2 seconds from when you open up on them.

200m is the bread and butter range for getting ESFs. Keep Libs as far away as possible.

Skyguards shine like no other if you have a small squad all playing them. 3-4 shyguard's combined fire can take on ground vehicles too as well as waisting all air in the skies.

Any decent 2/3 lib will kill skyguard while eating sandwiches and casually talking about football on teamspeak.
The numbers aren't on your side. You can't win HP/DPS exchange.

Stealth doesn't help because Awareness implant spots Skyguard after first round hits the lib. Also, the tracers and the distinct sound give away your position from far away.
Seriously, pull AP Vanguard. If you miss, lib will have no idea where you are. If you hit, lib pilot will spit the sandwich on the keyboard screaming OMGWTF in teamspeak.

I don't care if a Lib has seen me, the point is, unless I'm sitting still like a fool, it can't attack me very effectively.

ESFs beat 2/3 Libs all the time, and THEY don't win the HP/DPS exchange.

This is what your average lib thinks of skyguards:

Count the number of dead skyguards (hint: many)
Count the number of dead libs (hint: none)
Count the number of times when lib could be 1-shotted by AA Vanguard (hint: in every engagement)

That is very far from the truth

From an ESF point of a view I'll tell you the biggest mistake I see skyguards make. They remain stationary.

The moment I become aware of your presence I'm plotting to kill you and the most common faults skyguard drivers have that gets them killed is tunnel visioning and standing still. I see the direction you're firing (and thus your blind spot), sneak up on your rear and unload a full salvo of hellfires into your weak spot, then even if you start shooting at me I'll kill you well before with a few rockets from my second salvo.

Nothing pisses me off more than a constantly mobile vehicle, it makes my job 10 times harder. We ESF aren't the bulls of the air who can take damage and give some in return, we're predators of opportunity, waiting on the outskirts for a chance to strike!

Stay mobile, stay alive. Even slight back and forth movements will save your life.

In my experience: Get vehicle stealth maxed out and an terrain appropriate camo. Get as much extra ammo as you can carry.

Look for a big fight that is stalemated and go place yourself hull down in terrain between it and the next closest enemy base that has airpads.

Shoot at any smoking aircraft that is falling back to repair/rearm. After killing 1-3 of them, move somewhere else and hide for a little. Then kill a couple of more.

You will know you have done it right when one of the air-chav outfits comes hunting for you in a couple of MBTs.