by Dave Weiman
Published in Midwest Flyer Magazine June/July 2023 Digital Issue
The AeroCreeper is delivered ready to use without any assembly needed.
For the past 40 years, I have been scooting around my hangar on a little red creeper I bought at an auto parts store. But climbing down to floor level, and back up, can be difficult, especially with my cell phone in my pocket. When I saw an advertisement at AOPA online for the “AeroCreeper,” I thought, “What a great idea… An elevated bench on caster wheels!”
If you’re sick of bending, crouching, or reaching, the AeroCreeper is for you! Set the perfect height to comfortably reach whatever you’re working on. For me, that’s usually to clean the belly of my plane, and the AeroCreeper is large enough, so I don’t have to worry about rolling off.
Operating the AeroCreeper is simple and intuitive. To raise, simply lift the backrest. To lower, pull the seat up, then lower the backrest to the desired height. The AeroCreeper automatically locks into place.
The AeroCreeper lowers to 5 ¼ inches and extends up to just over 20 inches in its highest position, so you can reach all those hard-to-reach places on your aircraft, while on your back.
The AeroCreeper is made of high-quality materials, including 1-inch square steel tubing with 1/8-inch walls, and it will hold 350 lbs.
The AeroCreeper is built to last for years without any maintenance. The simple design means there are less parts to break and no hydraulic fluids that can leak.
When UPS delivered my AeroCreeper, I had visions of having to assemble the unit myself, so I opened the carton not knowing what tools I would need. To my delight, the AeroCreeper was fully assembled, so into the back of my truck it went to the airport.
So, I thought, a pilot’s tool MUST have been invented by a pilot, right? Yes, the AeroCreeper was conceived by a pilot, and to my delight, it is made in the good old US of A.
Travis and Liesle Hendrickson founded T&L Design, LLC in 2011, offering engineering design services, as well as custom manufacturing and prototyping. The company is located in Corinne, Utah.
Realizing that some of the best ideas come from customers, in 2016, a customer asked the Hendricksons to build an adjustable-height creeper to reduce the pain associated with cleaning the bottom of his airplane, the very reason I ordered my AeroCreeper. So, they invited their son, Joel, to take the lead on this project and come up with a design. After a couple of iterations, Joel came up with a workable design that their customer loved. That customer soon told everyone where they could get an AeroCreeper like his and voilà, the Hendricksons were in business.
“Even though we are now selling creepers to many industries, aviation still accounts for a large number of our sales,” said Travis.
Travis and Liesle met one another at Utah State University (USU) where he received a degree in Mechanical Engineering, and she received a degree in Education. Following school, Travis worked for 20 years in the rocket motor industry. Their son, Joel, also studied at USU where he received two Mechanical Engineering degrees, as well as a Master’s Degree in Business Administration.
Manufacturing of the AeroCreeper is made possible by a team of people who have a variety of skills.
“We have implemented CNC machines and a robotic welder to help us be as efficient as possible,” said Travis.
Even though Travis typically works long days, he has found a little time to pursue flying. “Flying has been an interest of mine for years, but it wasn’t too practical while we were raising our family.”
Joel continues to be involved in new-product design, when he’s not at his day-job (making airbags for cars) or coaching boys’ baseball. And you can always find him each year in Hangar D at Sun ’n Fun in Lakeland, Florida.
To order your AeroCreeper, go to https://aerocreeper.com/
