Aircraft Manufacturing and Design
A Georgia factory turned Chris Heintz’s kit-plane designs into certified trainers and ready-to-fly sport aircraft; its Alarus ended up flying surveillance for the new Iraqi Air Force.
Aircraft Manufacturing and Design: the company and the aircraft that made its name
Heintz designs, built in Georgia
The aircraft AMD built were born in Canada. Chris Heintz, a former chief engineer at the French firm Avions Pierre Robin, founded Zenair in Midland, Ontario, in 1974 to sell simple all-metal kit aeroplanes, and designed more than a dozen models. One of them, the CH2000, won FAA type certification on 25 July 1995 as a two-seat trainer. In 2000 production moved to Eastman, Georgia, where Aircraft Manufacturing and Development, owned by a member of the Heintz family, built it as the AMD Alarus. By 2008 there were 113 on the US register, mostly with flight schools.
An Alarus for Iraq
The Alarus also went to war, after a fashion. In 2004 the US Army spent 5.8 million dollars on eight SAMA CH2000 surveillance versions, fitted with infrared sensors and secure radios, for the rebuilt Iraqi Air Force. The first two were delivered on 18 January 2005 and flew from Kirkuk and Basra. Peru’s air force ordered six licence-built by SEMAN as the Antarqui. AMD also built the Zodiac, a ready-to-fly light-sport version of Heintz’s CH 601 XL, and later the Patriot 150, a high-wing STOL sport aircraft.
The Zodiac flutter crisis
The Zodiac brought AMD its hardest moment. After a series of wing failures, the Dutch grounded their CH 601 XLs in October 2008, and in April 2009 the US NTSB said aerodynamic flutter was the likely cause of several in-flight break-ups. AMD issued safety alerts, and on 7 November 2009 the FAA strongly recommended that Zodiacs not fly until the wing spars were strengthened and aileron balance weights added. AMD later passed to its management as a new limited liability company. Alarus production had ended by 2011, and AMD no longer builds aircraft.
Aircraft Manufacturing and Design in numbers
The company
- In short
- Eastman, Georgia
- Built Zenair-designed aircraft under licence in the US from 2000
- Originally owned by a member of the Heintz family
- Reorganised by its executive team as Aircraft Manufacturing and Design, LLC
Production
- Best known for
- Alarus CH2000
- Alarus CH2000 certified trainer
- SAMA CH2000 military surveillance version
- Zodiac XL, XLi, LS and LSi light-sport aircraft
- Patriot 150 STOL light-sport aircraft
Today
- Now
- No longer producing
- Alarus out of production by 2011; Zenair provides parts support
- CH2000 still flown by Iraqi and Peruvian air forces and flight schools
The numbers
- Alarus on the US register
- 113 (plus 4 in Canada)2008
- SAMA CH2000s for Iraq
- 8, for US$5.8 million2004
Every notable Aircraft Manufacturing and Design aircraft
Photos: Spc. Darryl Montgomery / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
| Aircraft | Role | First flight | Built | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMD Alarus CH2000 | Two-seat trainer | In service | Certified 25 July 1995 as the Zenair CH2000 | ||
| SAMA CH2000 MTSA | Military surveillance aircraft | 8 | In service | Iraqi Air Force; also assembled in Amman and Baghdad | |
| SEMAN Antarqui | Military trainer | 6 | In service | Licence-built CH2000 for the Peruvian Air Force | |
| AMD Zodiac XL / XLi / LS / LSi | Light-sport aircraft | Retired | Ready-to-fly CH 601 XL; subject of 2009 FAA bulletin | ||
| AMD Patriot 150 | STOL light-sport aircraft | Retired | Sold only ready-to-fly |
Aircraft Manufacturing and Design aircraft in the world’s air forces
1 air forces in the Order of Battle fly or flew Aircraft Manufacturing and Design types. 1 of them still have one in service.
| Air force | In service | Formerly flown |
|---|---|---|
| Iraqi Air Force | AMD Alarus CH2000 (SAMA) |
Where Aircraft Manufacturing and Design built, who led it, what it achieved
Factories
- Eastman factory · Eastman, Georgia
People
- Chris Heintz · designer, founder of Zenair — Former chief engineer at Avions Pierre Robin
Aircraft Manufacturing and Design, year by year
Chris Heintz founds Zenair in Midland, Ontario
Zenair CH2000 receives FAA type certificate
AMD begins Alarus production in the US
First SAMA CH2000s delivered to the Iraqi Air Force
AMD safety alert on CH 601 XL aileron cable tension
NTSB urges grounding of the Zodiac CH 601 XL over flutter
FAA bulletin: Zodiacs not to fly until modified
Alarus no longer in production
Everything people ask about Aircraft Manufacturing and Design
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Verified 2026-10-03.