Can I use ships other than the Starbug, Blue Midget or Space Eagle?

Yes of course, we use different ships all the time. Sometimes we steal ships from our foes, or borrow them from planets. You can do whatever you want with other ships.

But try not to fall into the newbie-gets-a-new-ship trap. We have that loads of times. Every new flyboy wants to have their own ship, it's super cool and really fast and pulls the girls, but the problem we have is that everyone wants their own ship, but if we all had one we'd never remember the names of them all.

If you're just using a basic shuttle, use a Starbug, which can fit a few people in. If it's for one or two people use a Blue Midget, if it's for one or two people going into a space battle, use a Space Eagle.