Coles County Airport Airshow 2018: Randy Ball MiG-17

By Carmelo Turdo

The 2018 Coles County Airport Airshow featured top-tier performers, including Randy Ball flying his afterburning MiG-17F. The Soviet Cold War-era jet, in this case a Polish license-built Lim-5 variant, was essentially the same type as those used extensively against U.S. forces over Vietnam as a tight-turning gunfighter with some success. Randy Ball's jet completed a four-year restoration and modernization program in 2001, and it undergoes meticulous inspection and maintenance each winter. In his 28th airshow season, Randy Ball continues to thrill crowds across North America as the most prolific military jet day/night demonstration pilot today. The Aero Experience thanks Randy Ball and Coles County Memorial Airport for their hospitality.