Chris Heintz
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An accomplished aeronautical engineer, Chris(tophe) Heintz is a graduate of the E.T.H. Institute in Zürich, Switzerland. After serving in the French Air Force, Heintz worked for Aerospatiale on the supersonic Concorde jetliner, and later became chief engineer at Avions Robin in France where he designed several fully-certified two and four seat all-metal production aircraft.
In his spare time, Heintz began to design and build his own aircraft, which he named the ZENITH, which is an anagram of Heintz. Being an engineer and not a craftsman, his all-metal homebuilt aircraft incorporated simple construction methods throughout. After a little more than a year’s work, the two-place low-wing Zenith was rolled out and successfully flown in 1969. Soon after, detailed blueprints and construction manuals of the aircraft were drawn up and offered to the growing number of interested builders and flyers.
In 1973, Chris Heintz, his family and the Zenith moved to North America, where Heintz worked for de Havilland Canada in Toronto, Ontario, Canada as a stress engineer on the Dash 7 commuter. Chris decided to form his own aircraft company in 1974, and under the name of Zenair Ltd started to manufacture Zenith kits himself from his two-car garage. Through the company, Heintz has introduced more than twelve successful kit aircraft designs over the years. In 1992, Heintz licensed the kit manufacturing and marketing rights to Zenith Aircraft Company for the STOL CH 701 and the ZODIAC CH 601 designs, and has developed the new STOL CH 801 and the new ZODIAC XL for Zenith Aircraft Company.
As founder, president and chief engineer of Zenair Ltd. since 1974, Mr. Heintz has designed and developed more than 12 new aircraft models, which have been marketed as kit aircraft around the world. More than 800 aircraft are presently flying around the world in 48 different countries. Heintz designs have earned an excellent reputation among pilots, builders, the press, and aviation authorities for their durable all-metal construction, normal flight characteristics, reliability, and low maintenance requirements. With a career-long dedication to aviation, Chris Heintz is a past recipient of the Experimental Aircraft Association’s coveted Dr. August Raspet Memorial Award "for outstanding contribution to the advancement of the design of light aircraft," and his designs have been honored with numerous awards around the world. In 1995 the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) awarded Zenair Ltd. the prestigious Honorary Group Diploma for "greatly contributing to the progress of aviation" and Chris Heintz was inducted into the EAA "Hall of Fame" in 1999. He was named the LAMA / Kitplanes magazine "Outstanding Individual" for 2001. Heintz was selected by his peers (aircraft designers and manufacturers) for this prestigious award from the Light Aircraft Manufacturer's Association
Chris Heintz does not only design, test and promote aircraft, he is also actively involved in all facets of general aviation as a long-time EAA member, frequently giving lectures and forums at chapter meetings and fly-ins. Heintz is also a sought-after light aircraft engineering consultant, consulting to governments, organizations, universities, and private individuals. A leading authority on light aircraft design and market direction, Heintz has worked closely with aviation authorities and organizations in developing new aircraft regulations and has been actively involved in promoting aviation (and industry) in developing countries. While Heintz officially retired in 2003, he is still very active as a designer, engineer and consultant.
