The Simple Stand with an Aquila XL. This article is about the Simplest Stand that replaced it.

My Simplest Stand

Perfection is achieved when there is nothing left to take away.

There are all kinds of plane stands out there. From PVC pipe, bicycle stands, to big boxes and the like. So far I’ve designed many plane stands and improved others. Some were complex and had lots of adjustments for use with and without wing support extensions. I found I really didn’t use the stand without the supports.

A couple of years ago I designed the Heavy Duty Stand, a heavier version of the Better Stand I designed in 1997 — for more support and wider cord for my cross country planes — and the Simple Stand (see key photo above).

My recent goal was to design a really simple and small, yet totally supportive stand. The Simple Stand was close, but had some unnecessary curves and the base had angles that were difficult to cut and a bit harder to assemble. You adjusted it by moving the supports in and out. I found the Heavy Duty Stand worked a bit better, but had a lot of parts and I had to use my CNC to get the grooves right.

Soooooo…I eliminated the side curves, got rid of knobs and such and ended up with this one — my Simplest Stand.

Photo 2: My Simplest Stand. Perfection is achieved when there is nothing left to take away. (With apologies to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry for butchering his quote.)

You can copy it and adjust the dimensions to whatever suits you.

Photo 3 (left): The flat-heads hold the stand together. Photo 4 (rig): I added a piece of 80 grit sandpaper to one end of each side part. If you have a really heavy wing, you might add a piece on each end.

Photo 5 (left): The pan-heads let the side supports adjust and are tightened when you have it positioned where you want it. Photo 6 (right): All the stands have Velcro loop on the ends and use Velcro hook to secure the planes.

Parts List

• 1 piece — 5" x 11" x 1/2" plywood base with 1 1/4" center recessed 1/8" with 1/2" hole drilled through to accommodate a 3/8" T-nut.
• 2 pieces — 5" x 7" x 1/2" ply with V-grooves — Wider and deeper in front. Higher and narrower in back to fit most fuses.
• 2 pieces — 2" x 11" x 1/2" ply with 5/8" holes a bit forward of center to allow support without hitting flaps.
• 2 pieces — 1/2" ID pvc pipe 10" long with T’s and 5" long pipe insulation.
• 2 lengths of velcro loop around the ends. A couple strips of hook to hold the plane down.
• 4 — #8 flat head screws counter sunk in ends (you can just glue and nail together if you want)
• 4 — #10 x 1 1/8" pan head screws. These hold the side pieces that adjust to hold the wing supports. I just tighten them where I want them. You can go though the trouble of using knobs, but I found it unnecessary.

Drawings 7, 8 and 9: CAD renderings which provide most all the information you need to make your own.

Perhaps you can come up with a stand which is even simpler than the Simplest Stand. But that’s going to be a challenge! If you think this can be improved, by all means, please leave a response to the article. Thanks very much for reading.

’Til next month!

©2021 Tom Broeski

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