I held out for Jim(snaproll) to chime in, but he must be busy. The 8 foot round building Explora Dome he had last year logged in some serious star party time. If memory serves me corectly it took him longer to put his gear in the observatory than it did to set up the observatory. The entire observatory was transported on its side on a tilt trailer. He would back up to a location. Release the tilt pin and set the observatory in place. Done, finished, viola. He stated it took longer to find a parking spot than it did to set up the observatory. Putting it back on the trailer took a little longer but not much by any means. No fumbling around with bolts or struggling to find this and that. No sweating to pieces in the hot sun while assembling. it was already assembled and ready to go.

As far as space requirements at star parties. It is no more of a concern than a person with a trailer they sleep in. I know at the Almost Heaven Star Party there are trailers (campers) that are HUGE and they have no impact on the surrounding observers.

Its all a matter of what you want at your star party. Kendrick tents are awesome, AstroGazers are great, both of which provide more than enough protection from the elements. But there is something to be said about a fully enclosed lockable observatory.

Clear skies,