Whats the difference in performance of the mesh and the solid aluminum?
Besides windload, none AFAIK, but Linuxman would be the final say on the subject. After about 70mph, the wind load debate becomes a moot point.
BTW the Birdview is better described as perforated rather than mesh design. I may have compressed the pics a bit too much to tell, but in pic 2 you can see the base material is ~6-8 ga (alum, possibly alloyed) that has been machine perforated before being formed.
As for Ku service, I have no personal data on the subject but I am told they perform equally well at that freq range.
Linuxman and Anole are the best sources for Birdview data and specs.