Thank you to everyone who visited and participated at the 33rd annual Zenith Aircraft Homecoming on September 20 & 21, 2024. We had a fantastic event once again with two full days of educational and fun activities at the Zenith kit factory in Mexico, Missouri.
Here's the email summary (with many photos) of the event: https://conta.cc/3TLuK9P

"A large crowd gathered at the Mexico Memorial Airport for Zenith Aircraft Company’s 33rd annual Homecoming fly-in and open hangar days on Friday, September 20th and Saturday, September 21st, 2024," reported local radio station KXEO. "This year’s event included a ribbon cutting ceremony organized by The Mexico Area Chamber of Commerce to celebrate the completion of Zenith Aircraft’s recent factory expansion."
In its cover story about the event, the local Mexico Ledger newspaper concluded: "You can tell just how much everyone cares about what they do at Zenith. It is truly inspiring to have something so unique and family oriented right here in Mexico, [Missouri]."
This year’s event also marked the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the low-wing Zenith CH 600-series designs by designer Chris Heintz. Zenith (anagram of Heintz) aircraft have been produced in kit form at Zenith Aircraft Company in Mexico, Missouri, since 1992 and the Zenith Homecoming and Fly-In event has been hosted annually ever since. "The annual fly-in is a homecoming for Zenith Aircraft customers from across the U.S.," reported General Aviation News about the event.
The 2024 Zenith Homecoming event was a success by all measures (despite some weather on the second day of the two-day event). The grass roots event provided both educational and fun activities for all visitors, made up primarily of Zenith builders, owners and pilots, as well as future builders and pilots, and enthusiasts.
Highlights included well-attended hands-on workshops, seminars, and panel discussions where experts, as well as amateur Zenith builders and flyers, shared their experiences. The Zenith Homecoming celebrates Zenith builders and flyers, and they came out in force once again, with several dozen flying into central Missouri from around the country in their beautifully finished Zenith kit aircraft.
Tim Steinmetz participated at the hands-on Zenith workshop class immediately before the Zenith Homecoming event where he built his own Zenith rudder kit: "I had an awesome time at the Rudder Workshop, looking at the exhibits (I even got to help assemble part of one of the wing displays) from vendors, the seminars from various presenters, but by far the most inspirational and fun thing was my demo flight with Roger in the Zenith CH 750 Cruzer. I really enjoyed how this exceptional aircraft handled and the feel of it as I was able to take the controls for a good portion of the flight! A BIG thank you for putting on such an awesome event with such an awesome product and drawing in such an amazing crowd of awesome people from all walks of life from all across the continent. If you've never been to one of these before, I highly recommend it. It is an awesome experience!"
"It’s no secret that Zenith has no secrets. Every year, Zenith opens its hangars and airfield to customers and the community for a free homecoming celebration," stated The Mexico Ledger in its cover story about the Zenith Homecoming event. "Guided tours wound through the hangar, past the welding department, through the new expansion, and showcased the equipment. Everything was out in the open and it seemed like nothing was off limits."
Presented by the Chris Heintz foundation, Inc., the Zenith Homecoming – Open Hangar Days and Fly-In event is a two-day event held at the Zenith Aircraft kit factory, with kit aircraft customers flying “home” to Mexico, Missouri, with their completed Zeniths.
Video footage and editing by Carson Stilson. Photos by Clint Gosch and others.