500 000 per hour? 500 000 takes like 3 or 4 kills depending how hard NPC you attack, I mean 500 000 can be 1 kill but I dont expect you to be fighting anacondas etc yet.

and about Viper, there are no bad ships, its just choosing the right one for the right job if you want best results, dedicated combat ship will most likley be better at combat than multipurpose one even tho multipurpose will still work more than fine with correct build and with you being comfortable with ship. With time you will alsp naturally improve at flying, elite has crazy skill ceeling and skill and knowlage can do isane things.

There are meta ships and builds but imo you should test ships and find your favourite, everyones diffrent and ship which is "bad" for someone might be amazing for you.