It's not the distance of the stand from the pitch that worries me so much, I've seen a copy of some of the plans and there's a small opening, only about a meter across, on the underside of the stand. Apparently it's some sort of small thermal exhaust port, right below the main port. The shaft leads directly to the reactor system. A precise hit will start a chain reaction that could destroy the stand. Of course only a precise hit will set off a chain reaction so I'm probably worrying about nothing.