Of course the IAF has had some phenomenal and lopsided victories in their past, and have a fighting spirit that is unmatched. The guys I have flown with were knowledgeable and skilled, like
bunk22 says, very similar to US pilots. I like and respect them, and would be happy to fly with them again.
I definitely don't have anything
bad to say about them, but they're not the unmatched badarses that a lot of folks seem to think they are (again, a perception that they have gone to great lengths to cultivate/perpetuate -- and for good reason).
As we've discussed before on JC, many middle-east and arab militaries tend to closely associate outside perceptions about capability with actual capability. In other words, they want highly capable equipment on the ramp and a
belief from their enemies that they can use it well...but aren't so interested in going through the lengths required to
actually be very good with that equipment. In practice, these arab air forces operate more like a playboy flying club than a fighting force.
This ends up meaning that opponents of the Israeli AF aren't exactly superb forces in their own right; the result is that a competent air force like the IAF can absolutely mop the floor with those opponents. It is not hard to look capable when many of your opponents are retards.