Lunartic shouldn't have bought my 12" Orion from me....

Now there is an idea !!, have a chair braced to the UTA balanced with weights in the rockerbox and there you go !
The servocat would do it, only problems would be vibration.

You'd need some amount of counterweight for that lads. How much do you weigh Frank so we can do the calculations......ah go on tell us....

No. The answer for public outreach is a small Ferris Wheel along side. You already have the 'Roadies' onsite to set the scope up in the first place, so we can make use of them for the whole night. They can push the Ferris Wheel on casters as the scope moves in Azimuth.

The answer for one man operation in your own private observatory with the least hassle is to order one of those car parking turntables. Ya know the things that rich people who are afraid of reversing buy for their driveway. Plonk the scope and the big stepladder down on one of those, throw away the scopes azimuth servocat motor and attach the azimuth encoders to the turntable and wire up the turntable motors to the servocat controller. Hey Presto...Ladder moves in azimuth with the scope.

......or am I overthinking this

Calibos wrote:

How much do you weigh Frank so we can do the calculations......ah go on tell us....

About a stone heavier than before Christmas!

Seriously though,
the sheer practicality of getting to the eyepiece
has to be taken into consideration.
It's kinda like building a skyscraper
with no lifts.

Yes, to be realistic, it really is a stumbling block besides the sheer mass of the thing.
I think that in time, apertures of ++20" will become more popular but it wont be your classic newtonain reflector, but a Schiefspiegler, Note where the eyepeice is in its description...
www.amsky.com/atm/telescopes/spscopes/spt.html
starizona.com/acb/basics/equip_telescopes_other.aspx
bhs.broo.k12.wv.us/homepage/alumni/dstevick/trischi.htm

The first company who makes these commercially competitive is going to be very rich very quickly.
Its the holy grail, no obstruction, easily accessable eyepiece with large aperture.

Well feck me!!
I was going to suggest if it was possible to
put a third mirror offset to lower the
eyepiece it would make bigger scopes more practical.
I thought, then hesitated as I wasn't sure was it
a good idea or totally idiotic.

Ya,
gotta say Dave if it can be done reasonably then
the world will be their oyster.

Above: The optical layout of the 8" f/60 dodeca-Shiefspiegler, because someone here has too much free time...
Source

Brilliant!!

Graham