EvilEagle
Pattern Altitude
When the USA got to fly against the MiG-29s that Germany got after unification, they were shocked. The MiGs won every simulated dogfight with the F-16s because they had a 30° off-boresight helmet-mounted tracking system for their AA-11 IR missiles. They did not have to point their nose right at the F-16s to get a lock, just in the general vicinity. The USA had nothing similar in operational use.
Additionally, the MiG-29 did not have fly-by-wire controls, and there were no software G-limiters. Both airframes have operating limits of 9G, but in a tight spot the MiG drivers could over-G their airplanes to over 12G.
The quality of western pilots might be better, but if the MiG-29 loses a dogfight to similar vintage airplanes, it's definitely not the airplane's fault.
Easy big guy. It's not a sky is falling type of deal. I've fought the MiG 29 in my 4th gen fighter. The HMS for the Fulcrum is sweet (we've got one now, but didn't have one when I fought the 29). It's a nice luxury, but saying they "won every fight" is just plain wrong. No missile, tracking system, jet or pilot is perfect. You can beat that platform (even against the HMS) - you just have to know how to fight it. It wasn't so much that the jet was better, it's that the US pilots didn't train against HMS threats then. (and they were flying F-16's which are the JV team in dogfights anyway...)
![Yes :yes: :yes:](/community/styles/poa/poa_smilies/yes.gif)
We don't have fly by wire either and we love it, but no one is over-G'ing their airplanes in training to win (even the Germans).
Many times we win the dogfights PRECISELY because of the jet. It's not any better or worse than ours. Even if you aren't that great, you only have to stay neutral with it for about three 360's and it will be out of gas.