RE: ATM Airline travel scope confusion

[Paul LeFevre <paull@lucasarts.com>]

Bill,
Being sort-of in the same boat as you (planning a month-long trip to the
Philippines at 5 deg. N latitude this winter, and don't want to miss the
southern skies!), I'm building a 6" f/8 "travel scope" -- the entire scope
except the 2-pieces-each truss tubes will break down into a carrry-on size
case.
I've been working on the design for a while now, and just this week
purchased the 1/2" Baltic Birch plywood for it's construction, and I'll be
starting this weekend.  I'd be happy to swap ideas with you if you decide
you want to build a travel-dob.  It can be done, my design fits neatly into
the 22"x14"x9" that is official carry-on size for all airlines.  I figure
the design could be up-scaled to a 10" without much problem, particularly if
the focal length is still around 48".

I'll be posting the plans and pictures as construction progresses on my web
site, but if you'd like to discuss things, contact me off-list.

Paul

http://www.slip.net/~lefevre/scope.htm

>Soon I will be flying several times a year to spend several weeks at a time
>in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, suburbs where I don't know the limiting
>magnitude, and in a year or so I may get access to a rural location about
>50 miles north of Milwaukee.
>I need advice on what to get to take on a plane to and from Wisconsin.