This is some of the stuff we've gotten from a traveling merchant/ carpetbagger/ snake-oil salesman that goes by the name "Wild Bill" McGee. His "Traveling Warehouse and Investatorium" is an enormous, rather battered zeppelin, stuffed to the gills with all manner of junk (clothing, cooking utensils, appliances, some art, and much in the way of weaponry and plane components) from around the Disunited States that serves as his showroom; the investatorium part refers to the weapons section. "They're not just weapons, they're an investment in your future!" as McGee's saying goes. He often visits Albuquerque, and the Diablos have traded with him from time to time. Below we've listed some of the more interesting and useful stuff we've gotten from McGee. Maybe you'll find them useful, too.

• Wing Turrets
• Pilot Armor
• "Pole Vaulter"

     We got the plans for these for a few crates of cotton shirts; word's still out whether we got the better part of the deal. These aren't the classic, manned turrets at the back of a plane like on the Brigand. A wing turret replaces some of the rocket slots on a wing, and allows a single gun of any caliber to swivel as much as 60 degrees from forward. The pilot controls each wing turret with an independent joystick installed in the cockpit. We tried fitting a couple onto one of our planes, but found that it really helps to just build the plane around this system. Even though targeting with these turrets is quite difficult, the increased firing arc can make up for this. Its especially useful for strafing runs against zepps. I believe these could be used on autogyros, in the nose, but its never been tested. Each turret costs $175.

Rules

     A single wing turret takes up two rocket spaces; rockets 3 and 4 for the port wing, 5 and 6 for the starboard. Only the outermost gun on the wing can use a wing turret. Each turret weighs 100 lbs., plus one-fifth the weight of the gun. In order to maintain balance in flight, if one wing mounts a turret, the other must have one as well, with the same caliber gun.
     The wing turret's default position is straight ahead, and can be fired as a normal gun. If a pilot decides to use a turret, he can only use that one turret, and no other gun. The turret gun fires into the hexside to the right or left of the forward hexside, depending on which turret is used. Apply a +2 modifier when calculating to-hit number when targeting in the left or right firing arcs.

Pilot Armor

     This is a pretty simple idea. Armor to protect the pilot. Thick, padded clothing with a few strategically placed metal plates can keep you from getting hurt from shrapnel or whatever and thus going into shock. This doesn't protect against sonics or flares, though, and the padding does slow down your reflexes. Still, its pretty nice to use occasionally. Plus, it keeps you nice and toasty at those higher elevations. McGee asks $70 per suit.

Rules

     Pilot armor is just something the pilot wears (write it under the pilot's name). While the pilot has the armor on, they do not need to make Constitution rolls for canopy hits. Also, ignore the first direct hit to the pilot, or if multiple boxes need to be filled in, ignore any one box (player's choice). If more than one box is hit, the pilot must still make a Constitution role.
      While wearing the armor, the pilot's Natural Touch and Quick Draw skills are reduced by 1. This is not a permanent adjustment. 

"Pole Vaulter"

      This one's pretty strange. An explosive charge is attached to one end of a sharpened, seven foot steel pole. When you ignite the charge, the pole "vaults" fast at your target. If you hit it, the pole crashes through the layers of armor, and hopefully hits an important component. Unfortunately, the pole itself basically replaces the armor it just crashed through. The "pole vaulter" isn't so good against heavily armored targets, and surprisingly ineffective against the gas cells of zeppelins. You can put a couple of these on a rocket mount. McGee's asking a hefty $600 per.

Rules

     Each "pole vaulter" takes up half a hardpoint, and has a to-hit modifier of +2. When the pole hits, find the location as usual, then count in 6 spaces. For anything other than armor that falls in this line, fill in the boxes and apply damage effect as usual, except for fuel tanks. A fuel tank hit by a pole drains at the end of the following turn. For game purposes, the armor remains unaffected.