IMO, UALT38 provides an excellent summary. I'd tend to lean a little more to the machine than he does. The pilot can make up about a one generation difference if he's far superior to another pilot, but if there's only a slight advantage, I'll bet on the plane. This is particularly important with the ability to "reach out and touch someone" in the forward quarter. While the focus here seems to be on "dogfighting" (I assume you mean turning post-merge), the most important part of the engagement happens with pre-merge weapons employment, and different pilots excel at different phases of the engagement. I've seen pilots who were one vs. one gods, but only average in everything else, and vice versa. Remember, a real engagement doesn't happen one vs. one and a good flight lead can help a weaker pilot a lot in the pre merge phase. The other thing I'd add is it's not always the pilot who's best at max performing the jet who will gain the advantage in a one vs. one, it's frequently the one who has patience and doesn't attempt to create and advantage until the other pilot gets impatient and attempts to redefine the fight.