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Fry's Electronics owns and operates a rare 747SP
- btian 11y agoJohn Fry is the only pilot I know that has a private pilot's license and a 747 type certificate. Most 747 pilots would have ATP.
- yock 11y agoI'm not a pilot, but my understanding is that type certifications are held to ATP standards. Is there some reason why a pilot would need both outside of being a commercial pilot who might encounter other types in his or her career?
- btian 11y agoI have no idea about the standard, but I don't think you'll need 1500 hours that's required for ATP. No reason. Just very few PPLs would have access to a B747.
- cpncrunch 11y agoI believe John Travolta also flies a 747 on his PPL.
- rodgerd 11y ago707 I believe. I find it more entertaining that Bruce Dickinson flies commercial airliners for a hobby, and has flown his band around the world in a suitably-liveried 767.
- jetbeau 11y ago757 - https://planeimages.net/i/Wqg9tJvxmyOq https://planeimages.net/i/Wqg9tJvxmyOq ""Ed Force One" maintain runway heading, cleared for take off Runway 01. " "Maintain runway heading, cleared for take off Runway 01. Ed Force One"
- rodgerd 11y agoD'oh.
- cpncrunch 11y agoHe owns a 707, but he also has a 747 type rating (among many others).
- kldavis4 11y agoAnybody know what they use this for. Seems like overkill for a corporate jet.
- btian 11y agoPersonal plane for John Fry.
- verandaguy 11y agoThat all depends on how grandiose your executives' lifestyles are. I wouldn't put using a 747 as a corporate (or even private) jet above some people.
- gaius 11y agoAir Force One is a 747. The Executive Branch lifestyle!
- Sanddancer 11y agoRegarding the seating, it's in the overkill range for a corporate jet, but the 747-SP is a significantly smaller plane compared to the regular 747. Capacity-wise, and size-wise, it's about the same as a 767 or 787, which do see some service in the corporate charter/owned jet.
- seanmccann 11y agoIt's used to fly the San Jose Sharks hockey team and staff.
- jmcguckin 11y agoJohn Fry tranports the San Jose Ballet and his sports team in the 747.
- jonursenbach 11y agoWhich sports team?
- alialkhatib 11y ago(Evidently) the San Jose SaberCats (football).
- glesica 11y agoWeird that the logo on the tail of the plane appears to be hockey...
- chipotle_coyote 11y agoYou are correct. The logo is not the San Jose Sabrecats, it's the San Jose Sharks, the NHL team.
- bmir-alum-007 11y agoSan Jose Sharks ink 'seven-figure' sponsorship deal with Fry's Electronics http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2013/09/17/national-hockey-leagues-san-jose.html http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2013/09/17/national-... Both teams played (or play) at the SAP Center (San Jose Arena). Probably, the 747 tail advert was a deal-clincher, goodwill/promotion gesture or both. It makes a lot of sense to drive/cross-promote advertising, sponsorships and other business into a common ecosystem. As it happens, I used to hang out with the Sabercats and (now former) Saberkittens at (undisclosed) because of a Stanford hookup. Since I don't find drinking fun anymore, I'm old and boring now. :)
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- saul_goodman 11y agoSo the SP is for "Special Performance". It has a shortened body and allows the plane to travel further and faster than the regular 747. Apparently only about 45 were ever made.
- savoytruffle 11y agoTaller vertical stabilizer too, to compensate for the shorter axis between it and the wings (moment arm).
- bmir-alum-007 11y agoFor some reason, that brings back fond memories of Flight Simulator Aircraft and Scenery Designer... turning the jet aircraft into a "U-2" with a massive, thin wing w/ winglets and a ridiculously big vertical stabilizer. Oh and 80,000 lbs. of thrust. Btw, a ZIP of it for emulators: http://fshistory.simflight.com/fsvault/downloads/msfs4b-asd.zip http://fshistory.simflight.com/fsvault/downloads/msfs4b-asd....
- userbinator 11y agoThe SP has a very stubby look to it; you can see just how much shorter it is (~15m), comparing the shortest and longest 747 variants: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Luxavia_747SP_Wallner.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Luxavia_747SP_Wallner.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lufthansa_Boeing_747-8_(16278574162).jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lufthansa_Boeing_747-8_(1...
- rodgerd 11y agoAlso to use shorter runways - they were the only 747s ever allowed to use Wellington Airport, for example (see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wellington_International_Airport#Boeing_747SP_era https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wellington_International_Airpo...).
- po 11y agoLas Vegas Sands also operates two and their page has better photos of the stubby body and huge tail of the SP: http://www.planespotters.net/Production_List/Boeing/747/21649,VQ-BMS-Las-Vegas-Sands-Corporation.php http://www.planespotters.net/Production_List/Boeing/747/2164... http://www.planespotters.net/Production_List/Boeing/747/21961,VP-BLK-Las-Vegas-Sands-Corporation.php http://www.planespotters.net/Production_List/Boeing/747/2196...
- roflchoppa 11y agoI don't doubt that they have money in the bank. I remember when an exec was accused of taking money from the company? it was like 75mil. Now if they would just organize their stores.... http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_11290227 http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_11290227
- kev009 11y ago:D, didn't know that it was universally disorganized. Modern day RadioShack..
- nosuchthing 11y agoFry's is a sinking ship. If you've ever tried to buy anything at any of their stores, you'll notice you get sales people asking to scan your items and print you a quote. Fry's employees don't actually get paid hourly wages anymore, they need to write up merchandise that customers buy which have a per-item commission attached (generally .50- $5 per item, high margin items might be $5-$15). If an employee doesn't make their weekly minimum wage quota, they go into a debt (minimum hourly wage will be paid, but the difference is made into pseudo-debt), if they don't sell enough to get out of their debt or if they arn't making their large warranty quotas, they will be fired. Apparently Fry's used to offer their employees much better benefits, hourly + higher commissions, and there used to be some sort of "retirement" type bonus system where they earned a growing lumpsum of money that would only be paid out if they stuck with the company for more than 6 years or so, but they've scraped hourly pay for the commission-debt system, removed departments and dropped those employees into sales positions, and generally just cut corners everywhere possible without any real modernization. Within the last few years they've pushed to match internet prices which is nice if you know their policy (limited list of official retailers, item must be in stock at that time, sometimes they arbitrarily add shipping costs). You'll piss off the sales person that writes you the price matched quote because they'll lose any normal commission. From talking to the employees, it's a toxic work environment and the entire store is feverishly being badgered to meet quotas for warranty sales. Fry's is a crazy store, it's in a position to be cutting edge for the maker scene where Best Buy, and Radio Shack have failed, but it's still stuck behind 20 years and ridiculously inefficient and short sighted corporatcracy. On that note, if you walk into a home depot you'll probably notice a maker bot demo set up.
- fezz 11y agohttp://www.747sp.com http://www.747sp.com operators: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Boeing_747_operators https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Boeing_747_operators
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- zaroth 11y agoApparently it's for sale. The 747sp.com ad roll says so anyways. The history table is oddly precise. Who maintains this data? http://www.747sp.com/production-list/21992-447/ http://www.747sp.com/production-list/21992-447/
- jlarocco 11y agoI would guess the FAA, but after a few minutes search on their site I couldn't find that exact info, though they have a lot of similar information.
- jessedhillon 11y agoHere's the listing http://www.controller.com/listingsdetail/aircraft-for-sale/BOEING-747-SP/1980-BOEING-747-SP/1368553.htm http://www.controller.com/listingsdetail/aircraft-for-sale/B... $1.5M is a lot lower than I would have guessed, unless this is like everything else in the Bay Area and the listing price is the floor and not the ceiling.
- mixologic 11y agoMaybe because it has 46000+ hours on it? thats almost 3.5 hours a day, every day. Also, owning a plane like that comes with some ridiculous expenses - you gotta park it somewhere, you have to maintain mechanical on it (annuals), and you have to pay for fuel. The cost of the plane probably pales in comparison to the cost of owning that plane.
- userbinator 11y ago46k hours and 8k cycles is not that old for a 747 - there are ones with 100k+ hours still flying.
- ianstallings 11y agoAccording to the owners manual for the 747, the most likely answer is that it requires a "D check", which is the 4th major maintenance check on the aircraft and will likely need major repairs. Also there is a modification called the "section 41" mod which is required of this aircraft, but most likely hasn't been done either. They estimate it at 7.5M to do both, and that was in 2005. Throw in the fact that this thing isn't really that useful to an airline and you can see why the market value is so low. Also, the manual states: "Values of most 747-200s have now fallen to scrap level. That is, the intrinsic value of an aircraft is directly related the market value of its engines and any salvage value that can be derived from its rotables" Which leads me to my last point - this aircraft might not have engines. Usually power plants are listed. Related: http://www.aircraft-commerce.com/sample_articles/sample_articles/owners_guide.pdf http://www.aircraft-commerce.com/sample_articles/sample_arti...
- hamza001 11y agohttp://googler700.blogspot.com/ http://googler700.blogspot.com/
- ck2 11y agoRemember Fry's Outpost online? They used to have killer deals before Newegg took over. Can't believe they have the cash for a 747 though, I doubt newegg does!
- jschwartzi 11y agoOutpost was great back before Fry's bought them. Now they're about as useful as Best Buy's website.
- xellisx 11y agoWow, looks like they are doing good for themselves. I was at the the first store grand opening in 1985, but my parents and grand parent, and grand grand parent's shopped at their Dad's grocery store. After moving to Texas, when the bought out the Incredible universe stores, it was nice to have them. Now a days, I only go to them if I need something in a pinch.
- jetbeau 11y agoThe Saudis own one. I captured it last year. https://planeimages.net/i/7VFu6v3BGBGX https://planeimages.net/i/7VFu6v3BGBGX
- allencoin 11y agoThat's a great low-light shot. What kind of camera were you using? Also, looked up that particular plane and found that it's current operated by the Saudi government, so that's pretty interesting: http://www.planespotters.net/Production_List/Boeing/747/22750,HZ-HM1C-Saudi-Arabian-Government.php http://www.planespotters.net/Production_List/Boeing/747/2275...
- goodcanadian 11y agoI can't believe, in a discussion of the Boeing 747SP, no one has mentioned this one: https://www.sofia.usra.edu/Sofia/sofia.html https://www.sofia.usra.edu/Sofia/sofia.html
- sbarre 11y agoI didn't know that existed! Thanks for the link, I'm in for some reading.. I love HN for this stuff..
- esaym 11y agoBefore I went to school for CS, I was actually an aircraft mechanic. I personally worked on this plane at the L3 center in Waco, TX. And now for the rest of the story: From what I recall, the plans for an air-born telescope were conceived around 1992-93. The plane was located and purchased (don't know from who, but it was first operated by PanAm) sometime before 1995 and brought to the L3 airstrip in Waco, TX. I came on board with L3 for another project in 2005, and the plane still had a lot of work to be done. Sometimes we 'd hit a 'slow week' on my current project and my manager would send me over to the hanger where Sofia was to 'help'. Which was where a bulk of the problems came from. I don't think there was a steady stream of money for the project, or at least the parts we needed. So people were constantly moved from other projects onto Sofia as needed and there was always lots of rework and spin up time. The core team with the plane was probably only 10 people or so. When I was there, most of the mounts and cutout for the telescope had already been completed. I can't remember if the telescope remained installed or not, but there were pictures around various buildings of the 'first light', so the telescope had at least been installed at one time. Most of my jobs were repairing damages to the aluminum flooring and ceiling substructures (not sure why they were damaged). Most of the time I was handed a mixed bag of aluminum floor repair brackets with a warning of 'careful, the last 2 guys that worked this DR (discrepancy report) don't work here any more', so the jobs were always stressful. I would spend a lot of time just trying to find the damaged areas, and normally they weren't fixed because some equipment was in the way, so you ended up burning a lot of time on already over timed tickets just looking (hence why these tickets were the 'widow makers'). There were many large .5”-1” iron plates mounted all over the floors for ballast, can't remember if they were going to stay installed or removed when all the computer equipment was installed, but they were normally always in the way. I finally managed to pull some strings with another manager that ran a night shift on a completely different project (P3 wing restoration) with a story about how I wanted to take training classes during the day at a local tech school. It worked and they put me on his team and my Sofia days were over. Shortly after that, due to another project needing hanger space, they pushed Sofia out onto an unused taxiway to make room. They then hung/installed all four engines on the wings for 'visual progress' even though they knew they wouldn't even be testing them for another few years. I worked the night shift for about a year and a half before I moved in with some relatives and went to University for CS. This was partly motived by the German engineering team (don't know why they were all German) that would visit Sofia from time to time and plug in their laptops to all the telescope equipment on the plane and hack on stuff (I guess) while they laughed and joked all day. This made me quite jealous, and as a Linux geek, I then knew I was in the wrong place for a career path :) Extra note: if I ever have another daughter, I am pushing my wife to allow me to name her Sofia, upon which I will hang a picture of this plane in her room :)
- jaynate 11y agoWould highly recommend this book by Joe Sutter the engineering leader for the 747 program: http://www.amazon.com/747-Creating-Worlds-Adventures-Aviation/dp/0060882425 http://www.amazon.com/747-Creating-Worlds-Adventures-Aviatio...
- dekhn 11y agoGreat book! I learned a lot from that (already was a huge 747 fan). In particular, compare the Boeing SST project at the time to the 747. It's obvious in hindsight why an efficient high capacity plane beat an inefficient low capacity plane- people want cheap tickets more than they want to get the destination in the least amount of time (hell, you can spend as much time in car traffic at the destination as you did in the air!).
- OliverJones 11y agoI heard a rumor once that the SP in 747SP really means South Pacific, and that it was built to carry enough gas for flights from LAX to New Zealand and Australia. I think the newer more fuel efficient airplanes from Boeing and Airbus have taken over that market.
- kavehkh 11y agoNo wonder their motherboards are so fresh in the morning.