WARBIRDS MiG-17
82 FLYPAST January 2018
LIFE IN
THE FAST LANETHE FAST LANETHE FAST LANETHE FAST LANE
LUIGINO CALIARO TALKS TO TWO PILOTS WHO
SHARE A PASSION FOR THE MIG-17
"T
his thing is fast, truly
fast. It’s also the most
stable formation
platform I’ve ever flown.” Former
USAF pilot Jeff Kaney was summing
up his MiG-17 Fresco. It was part of
the ‘Black Diamonds’ and still wears
the distinctive ‘Arctic’ camouflage
also sported by that team’s Aero L-39
Albatros trainers. This machine,
N6953X, is a Polish-built Lim-6bis
dating from 1962.
Jeff is the owner of Kaney
Aerospace, a high-tech
engineering enterprise
headquartered as Rockford,
Illinois. He explained how he
took on a MiG: “After owning and
operating an L-39 for over ten years,
I had the need for speed, the need to
challenge myself again. As a former
USAF pilot, my experienceAbove
An air-to-air view of Jeff Kaney’s MiG-17, a Polish-
built Lim-6bis.Right
The MiG during a display with a quartet of Aero
L-39 Albatros trainers. ALL AUTHOR