OK maybe I just do suck at piloting..I am fine in the ties though. I just can't maneuver the xwing at all. I always end up in the loopy fights and one of us ends up crashing before we shoot the other down. If you look at the scores in game you will notice most people have 0-1 kill and like 10-15 deaths.....that is not really a good sign that the ships work. There are always a few guys on top with like 20 kills and 4 deaths but the majority of people are just dieing a whole lot especially in Yavin...do I need a joystick or gamepad or something? I mean on the infantry I am usuallay atleast at a 2 k/d ratio if not more. Armor though again isn't so pretty for me.

What's Your Controls Setup ?

Pitch & Yaw: Mouse
Roll: A & D
Accelerat: W
Deccelerate: S

Should work, Roll shouldn't be on the mouse because the keys allwo IMHO better control of the roll.

Next: Join a Squad. Change the Squad if the Squadleader don't give orders, otherwise follow orders.
With Squadmates around, attacking / defending the same Target it's a whole lot safer.
Without Squadmates or a squad dispersed around the whole map you can't get help.

If no squadleader give orders, make up a squad and invite squadless players.
To set orders aim at the icon on the HUD, press T and left mousebutton (work like in groundcombat), you can attach a defense / attack order on anything what has an icon:
Capital Ships, Deflector Towers, the rebel Jumppoint, even enemy fighters...

Brake the loop as so as possible, try fly to other fighters of your side.
If your are in a Squad you can use the VOIP to call for help. Squadmates are the green fighters on the map.

Hold your fire until you can land a sure hit, otherwise you will mark your position for every enemy.
If you fly a X-Wing, Y-Wing, B-Wing or a TIE Bomber you can attack a enemy frontal - if he doesn't make any attempts to envade fire at short distance a Torp or a Bomb... makes short work of any fighter.

Joysticks can be helpfull, others fly only with mouse & keyboard.
Try it, and see if it works better.
Get a Joystick with twist handle and throttle and a lot of Buttons, always install the driver, because sensitiviy can't be set with the M$ Standard driver.
Most joystick drivers also allow to emulate a key with a joystick button.

To use the Commo Rose with the joystick (to set orders as squadleader) you must edit the controls.con or emulate the left mouse button to a button of the joystick.

CYNIC, n. A blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not as they ought to be. Hence the custom among the Scythians of plucking out a cynic’s eyes to improve his vision