Originally Posted by
Ascend Charlie
I was intrigued by the comment from a Mirage pilot, when asked how it performs against an F-14.
He replied that with the 14's auto wing sweep, he could tell at a glance what the 14's speed was, and could fight accordingly.
But you could sweep the wings further aft than the computed position so if an F-14 pilot knew that an adversary pilot was doing this he could always make it look as though he was faster than he was. And you could look cool on the break!
Great aeroplane, especially the big-engined ones (B and D models). No twin-stickers (like the Buccaneer) and some significant handling characteristics with asymmetric power due to the lateral spacing between the engines. A very low approach speed for such a large aircraft (around 125 KIAS from memory) with direct lift control also. One of the all-time great iconic fighters.