Open Hangar Days and Fly-In to Kick off on September 19

This year’s Zenith Homecoming event will soon be taking off at the plane maker’s kit factory, located on the grounds of Mexico Memorial Airport (KMYJ) in Missouri. 2025 marks the 34th round of the annual Open Hangar Days and Fly-In, bringing together kit builders and aviation enthusiasts from across the country.

The event, held on September 19 and 20, has a fairly similar format to previous years. Educational seminars and workshops run throughout both days, covering airframes, avionics, and engine options ranging from traditional Continental powerplants to Corvair and Viking conversions. Avionics suppliers, including Dynon and Garmin, are slated to appear to discuss safety, transition training, and first-flight preparation.

Friday evening brings the catered Zenith banquet: an outdoor BBQ in front of the factory if the weather cooperates, with guest speakers expected. Factory tours, flying demonstrations, contests, and social events continue throughout the event. A full lineup will be posted on Zenith’s blog and Facebook event page closer to the date for those wanting specifics.

The Homecoming is organized by the Chris Heintz Foundation, named for Zenith’s late founder, and is sponsored primarily by Aircraft Spruce & Specialty. Last year’s gathering brought hundreds of kit builders (and kit enthusiasts, of course), coinciding with the 40th anniversary of Heintz’s CH 600-series designs. Zenith hopes that 2025 will be another “educational and fun” year for all.

Zenith is a long-established name in the experimental side of the aviation industry, producing kits since the early 90s and bringing in more than 2,000 customers. The Homecoming tradition has been around almost as long, serving as a combination class reunion, trade show, and troubleshooting session for a brand with one of the most active homebuilt followings in North America.

FMI: https://zenithair.net