THE FAST LANETHE FAST LANETHE FAST LANETHE FAST LANE
with the [Northrop] T-38 Talon was
always a wonderful memory.
“I have really enjoyed the Russian
design and sensibility, and was also
looking for some history. The MiG-17
held some appeal and after some time,
I decided to add one to my stable. As
I started my search, one of the finest
flying examples was [being offered]
for sale by the Black Diamond team
and brokered by mygood friend Nathan Jones at Code 1
Aviation at my hometown airport at
Rockford.
“His outstanding crew had a history
[of ] maintaining this MiG so that was
an added benefit and comfort level.
My plane had been built in the last
year of production and has a very low
time airframe and engine. Five-Three-
X-ray had been extensively overhauled
and had a greatly updated cockpit
featuring two VHF radios, GPS,
Western-style updated instrument
flight rules (IFR) instrumentation and
an awesome smoke system.
“I flew the MiG from Florida to
my base in Rockford. Because
it’s alwaysmore fun to share, my best buddy and
airshow wingman Paul Keppeler and I
went to sunny Santa Fe, New Mexico,
to spend some quality time at the Jet
Warbird Training Center with Larry
Salganek and his MiG-15.
“Larry made flight training
challenging and enjoyable. Although
it can be hard to tell the MiG-15
and the -17 apart visually, they fly
quite differently. There were a few
times when I wondered what I had
gotten myself into during the -15
training. I had been rated in Paul’s
former Canadian CT-33, prior to my
L-39 time. Coupled with my USAF
experience, all came into play during
training and day-to-day operations.
Having had chance to fly the plane, I
have to say that I loved it!”January 2018 FLYPAST 83