
Fry's Electronics owns and operates a rare 747SP - bmir-alum-007
http://www.planespotters.net/Airline/Frys-Electronics-Inc
======
saul_goodman
So 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.

~~~
smegel
Kind of the opposite of the SR (short range) that packs more people in for
less range. Popular in Japan where they regularly carry North of 500 people on
short routes like Tokyo to Osaka.

~~~
akhilcacharya
The Japanese air industry is really strange - I've never understood why using
large widebodies on short hops is so popular there.

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goodcanadian
I 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)

~~~
esaym
Before 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
:)

~~~
dakr
The telescope itself is the major German contribution, so all the telescope
engineers are German.

------
fezz
[http://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)

------
roflchoppa
I 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)

~~~
nosuchthing
Fry'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.

~~~
tmuir
Don't forget the fact that they sell the same items for different prices in
different areas of the store, and take the default position that you've stolen
from them until you produce your receipt as you leave.

~~~
quotemstr
> default position that you've stolen from them until you produce your receipt
> as you leave.

As a matter of principle, I always walk directly past receipt checkers at
store exits. I've never been stopped, although I've gotten some nasty looks.

~~~
enraged_camel
I urge you to change your perspective. You are punishing the receipt checker
for trying to enforce a policy they have no say in or control over. If their
boss sees you walk past them, they can get fired, in which case you will have
directly harmed them. In contrast, showing your receipt takes less than 5
seconds.

~~~
louganpartition
That's stupid. If they've been given a job which is impossible to enforce and
been told they'll be fired if they don't enforce it then that's obviously
silly and it's not my fault that it's silly. If an employee is tasked to make
everyone hop from the door to my car should I also do that? What about if an
employee is tasked to make everyone fly from the door to their car? What about
then?

------
zaroth
Apparently 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/)

~~~
jessedhillon
Here's the listing

[http://www.controller.com/listingsdetail/aircraft-for-
sale/B...](http://www.controller.com/listingsdetail/aircraft-for-
sale/BOEING-747-SP/1980-BOEING-747-SP/1368553.htm)

$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.

~~~
ianstallings
According 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_arti...](http://www.aircraft-
commerce.com/sample_articles/sample_articles/owners_guide.pdf)

~~~
syntheticnature
This is even better than my reply, bravo.

Anyone want to spend 1.5M on a ridiculous base for a house?

------
jetbeau
The Saudis own one. I captured it last year.

[https://planeimages.net/i/7VFu6v3BGBGX](https://planeimages.net/i/7VFu6v3BGBGX)

~~~
allencoin
That'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/747/2275...](http://www.planespotters.net/Production_List/Boeing/747/22750,HZ-
HM1C-Saudi-Arabian-Government.php)

~~~
ulfw
Maybe he used a Canon EOS 6D with Focal Length: 120 Exposure Time: 1/50 at
ISO: 12800.

The link you must have clicked lists it all

~~~
allencoin
Ah, yes, there it is. I didn't initially scroll any lower than the watermark.

Love Agoda by the way.

------
jmcguckin
John Fry tranports the San Jose Ballet and his sports team in the 747.

~~~
jonursenbach
Which sports team?

~~~
alialkhatib
(Evidently) the San Jose SaberCats (football).

~~~
glesica
Weird that the logo on the tail of the plane appears to be hockey...

~~~
chipotle_coyote
You are correct. The logo is not the San Jose Sabrecats, it's the San Jose
Sharks, the NHL team.

~~~
bmir-alum-007
_San Jose Sharks ink 'seven-figure' sponsorship deal with Fry's Electronics_
[http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2013/09/17/national-...](http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2013/09/17/national-
hockey-leagues-san-jose.html)

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. :)

------
btian
John 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
I'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
I 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.

------
jaynate
Would highly recommend this book by Joe Sutter the engineering leader for the
747 program: [http://www.amazon.com/747-Creating-Worlds-Adventures-
Aviatio...](http://www.amazon.com/747-Creating-Worlds-Adventures-
Aviation/dp/0060882425)

~~~
dekhn
Great 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!).

------
kldavis4
Anybody know what they use this for. Seems like overkill for a corporate jet.

~~~
verandaguy
That 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
Air Force One is a 747. The Executive Branch lifestyle!

------
xellisx
Wow, 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.

------
OliverJones
I 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
No wonder their motherboards are so fresh in the morning.

------
ck2
Remember 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
Outpost was great back before Fry's bought them. Now they're about as useful
as Best Buy's website.

