The Edge 540 was designed by Zivko Aeronautics of Guthrie, Oklahoma as an advanced, unlimited class, aerobatic aircraft, to meet or exceed the performance of other aircraft available in its class.

In the 1920s Sherman Fairchild was involved in the business of aerial photography and survey work, and found the aircraft available at the time not meeting his requirements

In the United States in 1981 the Eastern Ultralights company commenced designing and building ultralight aircraft for the world market, the aircraft being designed by Robert Able and produced in some numbers for the amateur construction market.