The shields aren't broken, its the missiles and the heat signature they track. The EU gunship's heat signature is pretty odd it seems, as it makes the missiles usually spiral around it before hitting or veering off and doing no harm. The PAC vehicle has a larger one allowing missiles to strike it easier. As for missiles seemingly going through the shields, they pretty much are. SAAWs and gunship missiles seem to ignore the shields if the shields aren't activated in time. I don't know why, but they will go through if they are toggled too late. The shields work, just not when you expect them to.

As for evading/engaging, well, as already said, many dogfights will be decided on who saw who first. As a pilot, situational awareness is paramount, and really must encompass the whole battlefield. Knowledge of terrain and buildings can be useful in losing a SAAWs tracking ability. Watching the minimap will help a lot and can be useful in spotting enemy armor and possibly a spotted gunship.

If you're getting attacked, there's a few things one can do to get out of a messy situation. Check camera angles constantly for glances of enemy gunships and you can sometimes get the jump on them first. Being a daredevil and racing at the ground and using buildings doesn't work too well the majority of the time. I'd only recommend it after making sure your enemy has lost sight of you. Gaining altitude gives you energy, and energy is what will win dogfights. Eroak wrote up a very well detailed air combat theory guide in the TGU forum, check it out for more complete discussions. http://www.tacticalgamer.com/tactica...ory-101-a.html

A lot of being good with the gunship is practice and learning from mistakes. There's some basic stuff people can teach, but its finding a style that works for you.