"Flight For The Human Spirit" Plans To Land In ALL 50 States

By Chris Batcheller

Talk about going on tour!  Michael Combs is touring the country just a few years after being seriously ill, and he is doing it in an LSA.

Michael Combs

Back in 2003, Michael was seriously ill. So ill in fact, that the doctors had written him off. Slowly he started to recover and began to think about the life ahead of him. He wanted to become a pilot, but was devastated when he realized that he would never qualify because of his medical conditions. Then an issue of Popular Mechanics about the sport pilot license changed his life.

He bough a flight simulator and spent the next year and a half recovering. His dreams soon changed from being able to spend an hour out of bed, to wanting to fly.

Michael Combs' Remos

Really wanting to fly.

You though getting your ticket was hard? Michael's medical condition had left him with a bad memory problem. Crossword puzzles exercised his brain enough where he could start to study. At first simple things like names were impossible. With enough work,  Michael was stuffing all the airman's knowledge he could into his head.

How is his memory now? His wife and co-pilot Michele laughs, "now he has a better memory than me!"

Combs With Wife Michele

Michael wanted to see all 50 states. Not just land in 50 states. See  all 50 states. 140 landings and 22,000 miles, the equivalent of flying around the world. Now that's a cross country flight! In 2008 he announced to a group at speaking engagement that he was going to land in all 50 states, and hadn't talked about it with his wife! Her reaction? She hoped that he would forget about it.

Two months later, on Dec 23, 2008, Michael got laid off from his job. But he was very sure about one thing. He wanted to keep going. So they started contacting sponsors. Michael had a few simple criteria for an LSA. Durability (what could make the journey), confidence in the design and portability, as in the ability to fold the wings. They ended up with the REMOS sponsorship because the wings fold down. One of the plans was to be on Times Square in New York City, unfold the wings and be on the Today Show. Later a flight school jumped on board as a sponsor.

At first the sponsors were skeptical if they would really do it. Michael's comment?  He would have done it with, or without them.

So with a commitment from REMOS, and with 145 hours of flight time - Michael began the longest road test ever for an LSA.

How is the trip going? When I caught up with Michael and Michele at Oshkosh, they were at their 100th stop. And where are they now? Well, why don't you ask them! They have harnessed the power of social media with Facebook and Twitter. They've covered the eastern half of the United States and were working on the western half, including Alaska and Hawaii. Michael commented "the social media side has been huge because people can be plugged in, that type of fan interaction is just fun!'

So what's next for Michael? He is booked through November with speaking engagements and air shows. Next year he plans to set six new world records. Then he plans to tour the airplane and donate it to a museum. He also plans to release a book and commented that the whole flight was filmed in high definition video and they've taken thousands of photos. I see a documentary in their future! He told me he also wants to conduct an orchestra of his original pieces. It looks like he will be able to fulfill that dream too. He's met up with a professor in Chicago connected to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, who offered to teach him.

Part of the human spirit, is finding a way. At one time Michael and Michele didn't know how they could make it more than a week...

FMI: http://flightforthehumanspirit.groupsite.com