With the acquisition of a 24" mirror in autumn 2006, a telescope committee headed by Dave Gamble with Guy Mackie, Kelly Purdue, David Player and Alan Whitman was formed. A series of 11 discussion papers progressed from the basic design of the telescope to a sequence of detailed design plans that continued into 2007.
A key influence on the choice of a folded Newtonian design was the fact that the original Zerodur mirror was 4" thick, had a 10" central perforation, and weighed 120 lbs. Dave Gamble had a 10 inch 1/20 wave flat that he donated to the project. Using it to fold back the light path made use of the 10" hole in the primary as well as providing a comfortable viewing height for observers.