Seems everyone here has touched on at least a peice of what I think but I'll go ahead and type a bit
OK here we go. The Black Lance were genetically superior, through bioconvergence, genetic engineering, what have you, to the average human being. And if I'm not mistaken all the pilots of the Black Lance were GE'd, it was the station/meneal task personnel that were just regular 'fit' humans. I believe that the only time the Black lance are engaged and defeated (since there are only a limited number of the Dragons) by anything other than another Dragon was when Blair or Maniac were at the stick (both novel and game). Blair as we all know is the best pilot in the universe, so his ability to knock out a Lance-piloted Dragon is not in question. Maniac on the other hand , I pretty much rack any kill that pilot gets as a lot of raw skill mixed in with a healthy portion of luck, so it's not to much of a stretch that Maniac could take one down.
Another good point is the experience factor. You take someone who's been engineered from birth to do something (say play football - sorry I just watched the Packers stomp a mud-hole in the bears), give him all the training in the world (drill him in tackling, running, carrying the football) and he still will not be a match for a seasoned veteran on teh field of combat (newbie will not even hold the jock-strap of even a middle of the road NFL-veteran. Why do you think young hotshot quarterbacks who have been drilled in football their whole lives come to the NFL and get shown up by veterans who supposedly have lesser talent?).
Another thing is something can be genetically superior to something else but not neccesarily better. Take our genetic engineering of fruit for example. Take a hydroponically-grown, hormone-injected, cross-pollinated tomato and tell me it tastes better than what your grandmother grew in her garden from the seeds she grew last year. Genetic engineering is just like any other type of engineering, there are trade-offs. You can't make something better in one area without sacrificing something from another. The Black Lance maybe genetically superior to the normmal person, but 'genetically superior' doesn't nessecarily mean 'better'. Better chance at being superior, but not a guarantee.
I liked the Vietnam comparison from earlier. A better equipped, better trained, superior force is turned away by one that is fighting for the survival of their country and more experienced in the ways of the type of warfare that must be waged. Good example of history repeating itself.
Anyway, I think I've hit upon everything I wanted to. Bottom line . . . Better equipment, better training and better genes don't mean jack shit when your facing someone who is more seasoned (and also they don't stand a chance against the Heart of the Tiger and the Maniac!!!
). That's why people don't start out in the military as Commanding officers, they have a little something called, you guesssed it, experience to accumulate along the way. SOmething about it making you a little wiser.
There's my 2 cents . . you can give me back my change if you wish.
C-ya