Nose Gear Up Landing at Fort Lauderdale Executive

About that, I have some news...



There appear to be multiple Sabreliners at FXE. Did you know Fry's own(s|ed) own multiple Sabreliners?!

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Yes I knew that because Fry's based a lot of their aircraft at SJC over the years and their Sabreliner would fairly often tear up the pattern there to the dismay of Santa Clara residents. When the Patriot Jet Team would participate in fleet week based out of SFO, rather than all the pilots flying out at once, just 2 or 3 pilots would bring all the planes back to their home base in Byron (C83) and the Sabreliner would follow them there, bring them back, and then make another trip until the whole fleet was returned home. Watching L-39s take off with a Sabreliner from the old T2 ramp tower at SFO was badass. Also one time saw it shooting the pattern at SJC making a parallel landing with a Spanish Air Force A310 which was also very cool as parallel landings are rare to begin with at SJC.

Probably the coolest thing I saw Fry's do with it though was at the SNS airshow where Bob Hoover was present and they did a tribute airshow performance for him in it while he stood maybe 40 feet away from where I was watching it. It was later replaced with a Westwind. And now, Fry's is gone, and us nerdy home-PC builders have no place to take in and exchange and buy parts as needed. Sad, those stores were amazing, as were the jets. They had a 727-200 with winglets they used to fly the San Jose Sharks NHL team around in, too. Also briefly had a 747SP which they did charters to SJC with and had stored in MCC for a while where you could walk right up to it.

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I marshalled, fueled, and threw bags for the whole Frys fleet at one point. Weird stores, weird family. I remember the first time they brought the 747SP into SJC and put a bunch of people on it for a booze cruise and were out flying so low over the coast that people reported an aircraft accident. When they got back an hour or so later someone was so drunk they fell off the airstair and were injured very badly. Putting the Sabre in the hangar was the hardest tow job you did. I drove Randy's Ferrari to an auto detailer once.

Their fleet at the time if I'm not forgetting any was:
Cubcrafters PA-18 on floats
V35A bonanza
Twin Otter on floats
King Air 350
Sabreliner 60
G-IISP
Boeing 727
B747SP

I know at one point they added a second Sabre and a G-IV. I don't think the 747SP lasted very long. They liked Sabreliners because their dad flew them in the air force.

I don't miss the stores. Central computer is still around and they're much better anyway.
 
Putting the Sabre in the hangar was the hardest tow job you did.

unfamiliar ground crew don’t know the requirement for disengaging the nose wheel steering locking lever mechanism if they’re using a generic towbar; as well as disconnecting the loading sensor electrical connection also.
 
unfamiliar ground crew don’t know the requirement for disengaging the nose wheel steering locking lever mechanism if they’re using a generic towbar; as well as disconnecting the loading sensor electrical connection also.

We knew all that, it was just the position it was parked in was perilous. Reconnecting the steering was always kind of a fiddly task. on that airplane anyway.
 
We knew all that, it was just the position it was parked in was perilous. Reconnecting the steering was always kind of a fiddly task. on that airplane anyway.

i figured you all did know that, being regulars in servicing it. I just remember back in the early 90s when we’d get a Saberliner in, the crew would make it a point to brief that and for good reason, what with the damage that could occur If not done properly.

A great line of jets, always neat to see one flying.
 
i figured you all did know that, being regulars in servicing it. I just remember back in the early 90s when we’d get a Saberliner in, the crew would make it a point to brief that and for good reason, what with the damage that could occur If not done properly.

A great line of jets, always neat to see one flying.

Getting the single point fueling to work was always an oddity too, with the unlabeled mystery buttons and such ;)
 
unfamiliar ground crew don’t know the requirement for disengaging the nose wheel steering locking lever mechanism if they’re using a generic towbar; as well as disconnecting the loading sensor electrical connection also.
What is a "loading sensor"?
 
I marshalled, fueled, and threw bags for the whole Frys fleet at one point. Weird stores, weird family. I remember the first time they brought the 747SP into SJC and put a bunch of people on it for a booze cruise and were out flying so low over the coast that people reported an aircraft accident. When they got back an hour or so later someone was so drunk they fell off the airstair and were injured very badly. Putting the Sabre in the hangar was the hardest tow job you did. I drove Randy's Ferrari to an auto detailer once.

Their fleet at the time if I'm not forgetting any was:
Cubcrafters PA-18 on floats
V35A bonanza
Twin Otter on floats
King Air 350
Sabreliner 60
G-IISP
Boeing 727
B747SP

I know at one point they added a second Sabre and a G-IV. I don't think the 747SP lasted very long. They liked Sabreliners because their dad flew them in the air force.

I don't miss the stores. Central computer is still around and they're much better anyway.

Wow, that’s quite a list! Was that company just printing insane money at some point?
 
I marshalled, fueled, and threw bags for the whole Frys fleet at one point. Weird stores, weird family. I remember the first time they brought the 747SP into SJC and put a bunch of people on it for a booze cruise and were out flying so low over the coast that people reported an aircraft accident. When they got back an hour or so later someone was so drunk they fell off the airstair and were injured very badly. Putting the Sabre in the hangar was the hardest tow job you did. I drove Randy's Ferrari to an auto detailer once.

Their fleet at the time if I'm not forgetting any was:
Cubcrafters PA-18 on floats
V35A bonanza
Twin Otter on floats
King Air 350
Sabreliner 60
G-IISP
Boeing 727
B747SP

I know at one point they added a second Sabre and a G-IV. I don't think the 747SP lasted very long. They liked Sabreliners because their dad flew them in the air force.

I don't miss the stores. Central computer is still around and they're much better anyway.
Extremely rich people (especially those who recently and quickly became rich) are almost always weird. At least as weird (and very similarly weird) as extremely poor people. One day, when it's way too late, middle class people will acknowledge the danger posed by the "weirdness" of both groups. But by that day, the middle class will have already culturally voted itself into extreme poverty. Carry on.
 
Wow, that’s quite a list! Was that company just printing insane money at some point?

Dad owned a chain of grocery stores, then they went into computer parts, it used to be pretty damned packed in there most of the time. They owned an island in the Bahamas, a ranch in Texas, golf course in San Jose and an arena football team, and I believe they also owned the San Jose ballet company whose titles appeared on the 747 at one point... who knows what else.

Fry's was the place you went if you already knew exactly what you wanted and needed no help because nobody there knew anything about anything... and if they did they'd be found and shot.
 
Dad owned a chain of grocery stores, then they went into computer parts, it used to be pretty damned packed in there most of the time. They owned an island in the Bahamas, a ranch in Texas, golf course in San Jose and an arena football team, and I believe they also owned the San Jose ballet company whose titles appeared on the 747 at one point... who knows what else.

Fry's was the place you went if you already knew exactly what you wanted and needed no help because nobody there knew anything about anything... and if they did they'd be found and shot.
Their "real" "genius" was applying the point of purchase impulse buy to the tech hardware store. Forcing the customers through the gauntlet of sugary sweet swag and my-peelows before they could pay for what they came for. Genius! G0'murrica!!!
 
Their fleet at the time if I'm not forgetting any was:
Cubcrafters PA-18 on floats
V35A bonanza
Twin Otter on floats
King Air 350
Sabreliner 60
G-IISP
Boeing 727
B747SP

Yikes!
Except for the 350, this is a list of things to NOT buy.

Ok, the Cub would be fun but they want $300k for that thing.
(and the otter in specific areas like Alaska and the islands)

But the rest are drug lord hand-me-downs.
 
Fry's was the place you went if you already knew exactly what you wanted and needed no help because nobody there knew anything about anything... and if they did they'd be found and shot.

My experience with Fry's was always negative.

Saw memory on sale at a really good price. Went there and the memory was out in the isle, people were opening the static bags and touching it.

It was kind of a computer junk store.
 
Yikes!
Except for the 350, this is a list of things to NOT buy.

Ok, the Cub would be fun but they want $300k for that thing.
(and the otter in specific areas like Alaska and the islands)

But the rest are drug lord hand-me-downs.

If drug lord was using a 35 Bonanza to run drugs, he was not going to be in business for long.
 
Looks like they owned a fleet squadron of L-39's too.

No wonder they went broke.

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