This clever DIY project melds a step stool with wheel chocks.

By Chuck Deiterich I fly my Zenith CH 701 from my airfield into a variety of airports, many with no services—not even wheel chocks—and certainly no step ladders. Before returning home, I like to know if I need to stop and get fuel for my next flight. But having fuel tanks in the wing, it is a bit tough to check the fuel level with my measuring stick. I do not trust fuel gauges, so I contemplated my options. This may sound a bit outbound, but being a fan of MacGyver, I decided to build a combination step stool and wheel chock. I scrounged up some ¾-inch PVC pipe and fittings, a 10x14-inch piece of half-inch plywood, four “X1” blocks, three 6-32 wingnuts, one 6-32x1.5-inch screw and 10.5 inches of threaded rod (See Figure 1). The fabrication of two end frames is described below. Separately, these can serve as wheel chocks, or connected…

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