Zenair is a private Canadian aerospace company that specializes in producing kit aircraft. It was founded in 1974 by aeronautical engineer Chris Heintz and is headquartered in Midland, Ontario. Over the years, Heintz introduced more than twelve kit aircraft designs. In 1992, he licensed the kit manufacturing and marketing rights to Zenith Aircraft Company for the STOL CH 701 and the ZODIAC CH 601 designs, and developed the new STOL CH 801 and the new ZODIAC XL for Zenith Aircraft Company.
In 1996, Chris Heintz and Zenair Ltd obtained FAA type-certification for the Zenith CH 2000, a two-seat low-wing aircraft based on his kit aircraft designs. Aircraft Manufacturing and Design (AMD) manufactures this aircraft as the AMD Alarus CH 2000, and also produces the CH 601 XL as a Light-sport aircraft (LSA). Four French universities selected the Zodiac CH 650B as their instructional aircraft in October 2012. Similarly, Zenair Limited announced on November 15, 2012, that its FAA type-certificated CH 2000 trainer will be assembled in Peru, South America by a joint venture involving the Peruvian armed services, the University of Perunas, and SEMAN, a local aeronautical facility.
Zenair offers a variety of kit aircraft designs, such as Zenair Cricket – Kit, Zenair Zipper, Zenair Zipper II, Zenair CH 50 Mini Z, Zenair CH 100 Mono-Z, Zenair CH 150 Acro-Z, Zenair CH 180 Super Acro-Z, Zenair CH 200, Zenair CH 250, Zenair CH 300, Zenair CH 300 Tri-Z, Zenith CH 400, Zenith CH 600, Zenith CH 601, Zenith CH 620 Gemini, Zenair CH 640, Zenair CH 650, Zenith STOL CH 701, Zenith STOL CH 750, Zenith STOL CH 801, Zenith CH 2000 Alarus.
On April 30, 2021, Zenair’s founder, Chris Heintz, passed away at the age of 82 at his home in France.