When I started, I just used my existing 2" hex mats to save money and get going quickly, and they easily fit onto a 8'x5' table. Single-engine 1/200 fighters fit (barely) in 2" hexes, but 1/200 planes with multiple engines don't, and even many of the larger 1/300 planes don't fit (esp. 4-engine bombers and flying boats).
I agree with David Schmid about the telescoping rods. I found the AIM and Corsec stands to be too easily toppled, even with all the weight holes in the AIM stands filled with pennies/washers, so I made heavy 2" stands from stacks of thick steel washers that easily keep fighter-sized models in 1/300 lead or 1/200 resin upright. To accommodate my original dogfight group, I later wrote this recipe for constructing similar stands that will work as well, slightly increasing expense but greatly decreasing the labor involved by using more Corsec parts.
For larger models, I decided 3" stands were the minimum, especially for metal models of multi-engined bombers atop 12"-15" of extended telescoping rod. Again, I made my own stands from washers and telescoping rods, but the the 3" AIM stands work just fine if you don't want to do all that crafting work, and they really don't cost much more.
Since my dogfight group has long since settled on 1/144 planes, we've also settled on 3" hexes. If you want to see photos of our dogfights, look for photos by zoidburg42 in the CY6 Yahoo group. Our games use his bases, which are 1" thick 3" clear acrylic hexes he had custom made at Tap Plastics, and hold up 1/144 fighters and 1/200 AIM resin bombers just fine, even at TAL 6 (about 2' in the air). Caveat: a full 30x45 CY6 grid with 3" hexes is HUGE (nearly 8'x12'), so considering your previous posts about space restrictions, that could be an issue for you.
- Ix