In the general discussion section, there is an ongoing thread about the location, acquisition and astronomical conditions of Eagleview, as a site, but for those interested in the observatory build project, I thought the detailing of the actual construction process was probably best held in the DIY Observatories section of the forum, so....
After a few delays, construction has finally started on Eagleview Observatory, which once completed, will see it sit just shy of 1450m AMSL, making it Australia's highest observatory.
So, thus far, I have completed the substantial site cut and fill (done on Tues 7 Dec), leaving a nice elevated pad measuring 12m X 12m, ready to take the Observatory, control room/shed and open visual observing area. A path, from our existing driveway circle, out to the observatory site and a 75-100 mm layer of road base over the lot, will be added in the next week.
The site cut required a large 15 Ton excavator, which had to be delivered on a semi trailer with low loader trailer. Reminiscent of scenes of old trucks carrying large heavy observatory parts, slowly winding their way up Mt Wilson or Mt Palomar, back in the day, it made a slow crawl up the relatively steep, narrow and windy Tinderry mountain road. Then once at our property there is a last tricky bit comprising a steep approx 250m section (see attached photo) that takes you from 1350m up to 1435m, in a straight line, so, this had to be scheduled for dry weather, something hard to pin point at the El Nina moment!
. The delivery driver actually said that had he not had the excavator on the back of the truck he may not have made it up this section, due to lack of weight which is needed to provide enough down force traction!
For those interested, I will be posting progress photos at the link below...lots of work ahead buuuuut with a bit of luck, I should be ready for first light by next winter Milky Way season
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Eagleview - Australia's Highest Observatory
Mike