I really enjoy flying my unarmored griffon with basic equipment. It puts me around level 35.
Am I a real threat to MKVIII armored fighters? Not really, but I shouldn't be picking a fight with them anyway.
I play the way I play because I want some challenge and put a self-gimp on myself to keep my tech low and my cash-flow slow. I'd hate to have to either put more tech on my ship or fly around with an ooRP amount of cash on hand just to boost my level above 40. I don't want to hide behind no level limit.