The purpose of this paper was to design a simplified wind tunnel force balance for use in elementary aerodynamics/wind tunnel laboratory courses. The applied loads and moments were determined to be as follows: The design lift force is ± 20 lbs, the design drag force is ± 10 pounds, the design pitching moment is ± 20 inch-pounds. The force balance output accuracy was arbitrarily set at ± 5% since this would be sufficient for preliminary student work. The results of this work are as follows: The force balance is fabricated from a single bar of 2024 aluminum, machines and bent into an "L" shape, the applied forces and moments are sensed by strain gages bonded to machined surfaces on the bar, the output of the strain indicator equipment is transformed into uncorrected forces and moments by a system of three equations, the uncorrected forces and moments are transformed into true forces and moments by a system of force balance interaction equations, the design values for lift, drag, and pitching moment remain the same as originally proposed, the output error in lift is determined to be ± 3.5%, the output error in drag and pitching moment are determined to be ± 10%. The prototype has been in use for several months and its operation has been completely satisfactory.