HOME | DD

Description
Another design from now-defunct Ferrari Aerospace, the Davenport is effectively the big brother of the Billings-class Freetrader. Like the Billings, this design is one of the oldest still legally allowed to fly in regulated space. Despite its antiquity, obsolescence, and generally-agreed-upon ugly design (one of the downfalls of Ferrari Aerospace was an obsession with mid-20th century design styles that resembled the bastard offspring of a 1950s-era diner and a 1960s-era bus), many spacers collect these vessels the same way bored Core Worlders collect antique cars, aerocraft and especially motorcycles. Others wind up being the first vessel of the down-and-out Freetrader trying to work his way up the chain.
This is not to say the Davenport is without its up-sides, however. While comparable in price to the much more modern Sparrowhawk light Freetrader, the Davenport has far greater cargo capacity, larger (and individual) quarters, and can carry an interceptor in an aft hanger bay. Another factor that makes the Davenport popular is that- due to being older, less-sensitive technology, Greasemonkeys can often modify them far more easily (-5 bonus to Jury Rigging and Engineering skill checks for Greasemonkeys only) to do things they were never intended to do, such as the Davenport illustrated on the previous page with a heavy PPC spinal mount literally strapped to the port cargo bay and plugged into the port engine reactor for power. While this may make the average Greasemonkey-tweaked Davenport look like a flying scrap heap, the results can be impressive, rivaling larger and more modern vessels for a fraction of the cost.

Description
Another design from now-defunct Ferrari Aerospace, the Davenport is effectively the big brother of the Billings-class Freetrader. Like the Billings, this design is one of the oldest still legally allowed to fly in regulated space. Despite its antiquity, obsolescence, and generally-agreed-upon ugly design (one of the downfalls of Ferrari Aerospace was an obsession with mid-20th century design styles that resembled the bastard offspring of a 1950s-era diner and a 1960s-era bus), many spacers collect these vessels the same way bored Core Worlders collect antique cars, aerocraft and especially motorcycles. Others wind up being the first vessel of the down-and-out Freetrader trying to work his way up the chain.
This is not to say the Davenport is without its up-sides, however. While comparable in price to the much more modern Sparrowhawk light Freetrader, the Davenport has far greater cargo capacity, larger (and individual) quarters, and can carry an interceptor in an aft hanger bay. Another factor that makes the Davenport popular is that- due to being older, less-sensitive technology, Greasemonkeys can often modify them far more easily (-5 bonus to Jury Rigging and Engineering skill checks for Greasemonkeys only) to do things they were never intended to do, such as the Davenport illustrated on the previous page with a heavy PPC spinal mount literally strapped to the port cargo bay and plugged into the port engine reactor for power. While this may make the average Greasemonkey-tweaked Davenport look like a flying scrap heap, the results can be impressive, rivaling larger and more modern vessels for a fraction of the cost.