Travel scope that I can take on a flight

[mattft]

Hi guys,

my dad is looking for a scope which he can take on his regular travels. He's a beginner so basic Goto would be good. He'll do both planetary and deep sky from deepest darkest Poland and the UK. Any recommendations? Been looking at a Meade etx or similar. Anyone with experience of regular air travel with their setup?

cheers,

Matt

[DirkSteele]

What kind of budget are you thinking of?

Below are details of my travel set-up, though it is a rather expensive set up, there are plenty of small lower cost refractors available. The scope and EPs go carry on with me in the cabin, and the mount and tripod are checked. One thing to consider is that with a Go-To is the requirement for power. The path of using lots of AA batteries will most likely lead to quick frustration as scopes tend to eat through those rather quickly. I just take the Sky and Telescope Pocket Sky Atlas and a Planisphere with me and use a manual mount.

My Travel Telescope

The telescope OTA is the APM TMB 105/650 LW with 2" Feathertouch focuser. Weight including tube rings is 4.7kg. Minimum length for transportation is 450mm though this requires the focuser be removed. Min length with focuser still attached is 490mm.

The mount is the Teleoptic Ercole. Weighs 3kg and is capable of supporting 8kg on one arm without the use of a counterweight. With a counterweight, the load capacity increases to 18kg on each arm which can be two scopes so has use outside of a travel mount.

The tripod was initially the big hurdle as I want to be able to travel without any additional checked baggage. In other words the tripod needed to fit in my largest suitcase. Most dedicated astronomical tripods are too long. In the end I went with the Gitzo Series 5 6X 5532S Carbon Fibre tripod. Weight is 2.8kg and minimum length for transportation is 620mm. The tripod is rated to carry 40kg so while not a dedicated astronomical tripod, it is more than up to the job.

I take 3 EPs with me. A 35mm Televue Panoptic, a Televue 10mm Delos and Televue 3-6mm Nagler Zoom. This gives me a magnification range of 18x to 216x and a field of view range of 3.4 degrees to 0.2 degrees. As mentioned the scope and EPs are transported in a Pelican 1510 case as carry on luggage.

Clear skies,

[Stu]

Here is my somewhat cheaper version :-)

http://stargazerslounge.com/index.php?/topic/161700-WO66-Grab-and-Go-Setup/page__view__findpost__p__1633660

May be worth looking at something like a Skymax 90 or 102, reasonable aperture and quite compact. I may be wrong but I suspect Goto may be a step too far in terms of weight allowance but others may have different experience of this.

Stu

[ronin]

Don't know the size nor weight of it but how about the new Skywatcher that FLO were mentioning the Heritage Virtuoso?

Comes in Mak form and reflector, Mak looks most appropriate.

Appears to sit on a small table, not the ground.

Not sure of the full set of features I would assume that it will track but from the description is not initially goto - can be expanded to this.

FLO Virtuoso

[jgs001]

A different approach... and whilst it's not ideal for the moon and planets, you can have some decent views of them, with a little effort. A Skywatcher ST80, mount it on a camera tripod. The ST80, diagonal, finder, eyepieces, barlows, torch etc, will all fit in a Maplin aluminium flight bag, just leaving the tripod to mount it on, travelling in the hold.

Alternatively, get a decent pair of binoculars.. ok the moon and planets will be more out of reach, but very easy to carry around.

And don't forget a copy of something like Turn Left at Orion (paper based goto )

[ollypenrice]

I wouldn't bother with Go To. It's a lot to pay for, a lot to carry around, and what small scopes do best is wide field so finding things is easier. Something like the ETX90 with its long focal length is fine for the planets but has tunnel vision for the wider stuff and the planets you can see at home in the light pollution. I'd agree with the others and pick a small refractor on an alt az tripod. Camera tripopds are bearable with very light refractors but they go wildly out of balance as you approach the zenith so an astro alt azimuth would be my preference.

As for Go To, buy a good star atlas and a planetarium. Don't mix laptops and observng. Dimmed screens still crop your night adaptation.

Olly

[mattft]

lots of great advice, thanks guys. I was thinking of a couple of hundred pounds ish budget for the Skywatcher ST80 and Heritage Mak look to fit the bill. You're probably right about the goto - Turn Left At Orion is a must

[jgs001]

Matt, if I can, I'll grab a pic of my maplins case for you.

[steppenwolf]

Within your proposed budget, here's another vote for the SkyWatcher ST80 - great little observer's 'scope:-

[mattft]

Matt, if I can, I'll grab a pic of my maplins case for you.

Thanks John, that would be great. And thanks for your recommendation Steve.

[Naemeth]

Give these two a look:

[Dunkster]

Give these two a look:

http://stargazerslou...cope-which-one/

http://stargazerslou...ch-eps-to-take/

Some really great feedback in those threads (thanks to everyone that contributed!), and I've had a very enjoyable holiday. The scope was wrapped in bubble wrap and carried-on in a small backpack. With EPs and accessories (atlas!) the pack was 6kg, mini Porta in checked bag.

I'd be keen to see what the ST80 can do with that extra aperture

[jgs001]

Matt, here you go... (please excuse the poor IQ... the iPhone 3gs camera leaves something to be desired.

From the top...

Konus Vista 80s (ST80clone), 5mm orthoscopic.

5mm Hyperion, Baader Skysurfer III, red modded torch, 30mm extension tube

17mm, 21 and 24mm Hyperions, WO 1.25" diagonal, Celestion Ultima 2x barlow, and below that a Semi APO filter.

The flight case, is I think, the same size as Steve's... about the same dimensions as a deep brief case. In fact, one of http://www.maplin.co.uk/flight-case-with-foam-36796

[jabberwocky]

I use an ST102 on a giottos camera tripod, scope goes in hand luggage, tripod in hold luggage. Great, cheap grab and go widefield scope

[mattft]

Some really great feedback in those threads (thanks to everyone that contributed!), and I've had a very enjoyable holiday. The scope was wrapped in bubble wrap and carried-on in a small backpack. With EPs and accessories (atlas!) the pack was 6kg, mini Porta in checked bag.

I'd be keen to see what the ST80 can do with that extra aperture

great threads, thanks both!