The Zenith Aircraft Co was formed in 1992 in Mexico, Missouri to design, develop and build small light kit aircraft for the amateur constructor and set up a production facility at the Mexico Memorial Airport.

Introduced into the Zenith range of light aircraft in 1998, the CH-801 was designed to expand the utility of the STOL CH-701 series by increasing the useful load to over 454 kg (1,000 lb) whilst retaining the original designs short and rough field capability.