Black Knight Telescope experience??

So I'm looking to upgrade to medium aperture now after spending a great 4 years with 6" Mak-Newt and found a fascinating outfit called Black Knight Telescopes - solid tube dobs, optics by R.F.Royce, good looking wood. Has anyone bought one of these scopes, or know anyone who has? I contacted the head honcho but no deliveries to my area as yet. I'd like to talk to someone with hands-on. The comments section of their website quotes a lot of folks who love the way they look...hmmmm. Thanks.

Rob K

I'm sure Royce makes a great mirror. Those Black Knight scopes do look good, but those good looks do cost something more, and a truss or strut setup has some advantages when it comes to thermal issues. Furthermore, the Starmaster design with its low rocker box is probably a lot more stable. I'm not arguing against the BKTs, just pointing out that there are some strengths and weaknesses to both tubes and trusses.

The BKTs are pricey, but having just made a spare-no-expense 7" f/6.7 for myself, I have to say that the prices don't seem out of line at all to me. Even considering the great price on the primary I got from Mark Harry and the even better price on the Appleply scraps I got from a famous friend and neighbor, I probably ended up spending a total of $1250 or more, and that doesn't include labor. It does include some first-class components, like a TV Starbeam finder, a Wolanski focuser, a Protostar spider with ULS Quartz secondary--stuff like that. When I figure in primary prices, labor, and overhead, the BKT prices look about right to me.

My 10" Teleport is even pricier than the BKT options, but you're looking at a wait of no less than a year, probably more, for one of those. If I were in the market right now, I'd probably lean towards one of the 11" Starmaster ELTs. It doesn't look as good, but the bang-for-the-buck seems better to me while still providing premium performance.
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Mike