When Michael Combs was a little boy, he dreamed of flying. And he always thought he would fly — one day.

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Sam Combs walks away from a plane unveiled Saturday in Denton.

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When the Lake Dallas man was 50 years old with heart problems, he nearly died twice and thought he had lost that dream forever.

But he lived and started seeing the world with new eyes, said his daughter, Cyndi Combs.

“When he died, I held his hand,” she said. “He was flat on his back, sweating. I remember grabbing him and telling him everything would be OK.”

He was able to feebly get out the words “I love you” to his daughter before he faded.

When she saw him later, he was a man on a mission — a child seeing the world for the first time, she said. He wanted to start flying, live his dream and inspire others to do the same.

On Saturday, Combs unveiled an aircraft that will take him on a journey — called “Flight for the Human Spirit” — to all 50 states to spread his message of hope.

He recently took his first flight lesson at Denton Airport and plans to depart on the 18,400-mile odyssey in 10 months, he said.

“This is more than flying — this is your flight,” he said to the gathered audience Saturday. “This is your airplane. I’m doing this for you.”

Combs named the aircraft Hope One.

The plane “will help spread the message it’s never to late to follow your dreams,” he said. “I would like to keep the name going.”

He said he anticipates setting multiple world records after he departs on April 4.

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Michael Combs announces his plan to fly the plane to all 50 states.

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Hope One, a light sport airplane built by Remos Aircraft of Germany, was designed by a quadriplegic who dreamed of designing aircraft, said Corvin Huber, chief executive officer of Remos.

Huber traveled from Germany to the unveiling ceremony in Denton, where about 100 people stood in the heat to listen to the story of the upcoming flight.

U.S. Aviation at Denton Airport is helping Combs prepare for his journey with donated flight lessons for the plane, which has a top speed of 137 mph and can climb to an altitude of 15,000 feet, Combs said.

The idea of pursuing dreams and getting others excited about their dreams was one reason U.S. Aviation wanted to help out, said Justin Shelley, the company’s director of aircraft sales.

Combs is “taking a message of hope and not giving up on your dreams, and we want people to apply that to flying,” Shelley said. “It’s a good message that needs to get out there.”

With the global recession, people are feeling down on their luck, and it’s easy to give up, he said.

But thinking outside the box and getting creative to find solutions is what Combs preaches — aligning well with U.S. Aviation’s goals, Shelley said.

Getting creative is “what we’ve had to do with this company. A lot of flight schools are folding up, and we’re doing very well,” he said.

U.S. Aviation has expanded its domestic flight school services to international markets.

His journey will be strenuous, Combs said. It will feature 134 stops, and between stops he will be flying up to eight hours at a time.

His doctor has cleared him for takeoff, but with a weakened heart, Combs will carry a few oxygen tanks on the plane for emergencies. Several volunteers have wanted to be passengers on different legs of the journey, Combs said.

“My mission is to tell people it’s never too late to pursue their dreams,” he said. “If I can fly, what can you do?”

CANDACE CARLISLE can be reached at 940-566-6889. Her e-mail address is ccarlisle@dentonrc.com.