Zenith Aircraft Prepares for 35th Annual Homecoming and Fly-In This September

Two-day gathering in Mexico, Missouri, will feature educational seminars, factory tours, and hands-on workshops for experimental builders.

Tuesday, June 30, 2026 at 04:02 PM ET

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Edited By: Parris Clarke

[Credit: Zenith Aircraft]

Key Takeaways:

Zenith Aircraft Company will host its 35th annual Homecoming, Open Hangar Days, and Fly-In on September 18-19 at its factory in Mexico, Missouri.
The event offers factory tours, flying demonstrations, an aircraft show, direct access to vendors, and educational seminars on building, avionics, STOL techniques, and regulatory issues like MOSAIC.
Attendees can participate in hands-on projects, including a women's building workshop, tour a newly completed 12,000-square-foot facility expansion, and celebrate the 40th anniversary of the STOL CH 701 design.

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For homebuilders and sport aviation enthusiasts, the premier autumn destination is officially locked in.

Zenith Aircraft Company has announced it will host its 35th annual Zenith Homecoming, Open Hangar Days and Fly-In on September 18 and 19. As tradition, the two-day event will take place at the company’s kit aircraft manufacturing factory located at the Mexico Memorial Airport in Mexico, Missouri.

Serving as a massive homecoming for builders across the U.S., the event allows Zenith owners to fly in with their completed aircraft to the very location where their parts and components were originally manufactured. The schedule offers visitors factory tours, flying demonstrations, aircraft shows, and direct access to more than a dozen aviation vendors.

Educational seminars kick off on Friday, September 18, focusing on essential topics for builders such as airframe construction, engine installation, avionics integration, and STOL techniques.

A key highlight of the educational lineup is a regular guest speaker, EAA’s Director of Chapters and Homebuilt Community Manager Charlien Becker. Becker will share information on regulatory issues impacting the sport aircraft and kitbuild communities, including most notably the recently-implimented MOSAIC rule change and BasicMed updates, among other topics.

Saturday’s schedule shifts focus toward hands-on learning and recognition. Visitors will have the opportunity to tour Zenith’s newly completed, 12,000-square-foot expansion of its manufacturing facilities and view the annual aircraft show, which awards prizes across several categories.

Hands-on factory projects are also slated to return, along with the ever popular women’s only introduction to aircraft building workshop class. This year’s gathering carries extra significance as the community celebrates the 40th anniversary of the iconic STOL CH 701 design.

Zenith’s diverse lineup—ranging from the economical CH 650 cruiser to the latest STOL CH 750 Super Duty with its signature rear jump seat—has remained among the top choices among builders for decades. According to the company, it typically takes 400-500 hours to finish a Zenith build from a complete kit. Zenith also offers component kits and quick build kits.

While area hotels typically sell out well in advance for the annual event, Zenith is offering free onsite camping directly at Mexico airport for attendees. A more in-depth event itinerary will be available on Zenith’s website closer to the gathering date.

Parris is a writer and content producer for Firecrown. When Parris isn't chasing stories, you can find him watching or playing basketball.