The CH 150 is one of only six amateur-built aircraft types specifically approved by Transport Canada for aerobatics, without other restrictions.[3]
After emigrating to Canada and setting up Zenair to sell plans and kits for amateur construction of his Zenith two seat-light aircraft, the German aircraft designer Chris Heintz started design of a smaller, single seat development of the Zenith, the Zenair CH 100 Mono-Zenith. The first CH 100 made its maiden flight on 8 May 1975, powered by a 55 hp (41 kW) Volkswagen air-cooled engine of 1600 cc. Heintz used the Mono-Zenith as a starting point to develop a single-seat aircraft for aerobatic training and competition flying, the resulting aircraft, the CH 150 Acro-Zenith making its maiden flight on 19 May 1980. It was designed to be powered by engines of between 100 and 180 hp (75–134 kW) and had a tailwheel undercarriage instead of the nosewheel undercarriage of the earlier aircraft. Zenair continued to produce kits until 1988.[4]
In a 1983 advertisement Zenair described the design goals of the CH150: