dan magazine

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N

DECEMBER 2014 ISSUE #1 LIMITED EDITION COPY

GETTING STARTED

FROM STOCK CAR RACING TO AIR RACING, ULTRA-

LIGHT TO ULTIMATE, OVAL TRACKS TO SALT FLATS...

DREAM ENTHUSIAST

ENTHUSIASM FOR SPEED PERFORMING, BUILDING, CREATING, AND MAKING

DREAMS REALITY...

FABRICATION

DESIGNING, REPAIRING, BUILDING, WELDING - WHY CUSTOMERS KEEP COMING

BACK TO DAN...

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photo : Wayne S. Tarr

DECEMBER 2014 DAN MAGAZINE

DAN MAGAZINE SPECIAL EDITION

DAN MAGAZINE DECEMBER 201402 03

If you

know Dan at all you probably have a heard a

story or two about his racing days. If you’re

just getting acquainted with Dan you may

not realize that this passionate performer

got his start racing stock cars on the oval

tracks of the Northeast. In fact, he was rac-

ing before most kids were driving cars at all.

Dan grew up in rural Northwest Vermont,

just a few hundred feet away from where

he’s made his home in Bakersfield. Not

everyone can say that their childhood best

friends remain their best friends into adult-

hood, but Dan’s crew has been steadfast

since grade school. “By age 12 or so ev-

ery summer night my friends and I were out

building, scheming, exploring, and having

adventures. We didn’t need tents...most of

the time we just slept under the stars, if we

slept at all. My friend Miles lived on a back

road and had a big field behind his house.

We made a dirt race track out there. I have

so many stories I could tell about racing at

Miles’ house with Derek and Joe!” recalls

Dan. Winding dirt roads that weave over

the local Cold Hollow Mountain gave them

ample opportunities to practice and perfect

off-road motorcycle racing, too. “We were

fearless!” says Marcotte.

Dan’s first stock car was a 1972 Plymouth

Duster. “Before I was old enough to rent

a garage, I built race cars in my driveway,

just figuring it out as I went!” says Dan with

a laugh. With just a handful of tools and

an old welder he used his natural problem-

solving and mechanical abilities to put to-

gether a race car he thought was “track

ready.”

At age 16 he had only just received his

driver’s license, although he’d already been

driving for years. His needed a waiver

signed by his parents to race. “I didn’t

have a way to even get the car to the track,”

remembers Marcotte. “We put a sign up

on my front lawn next to the car that said

something like LOOKING FOR A RIDE TO

AIRBORNE SPEEDWAY.” Low and behold

someone did stop and offer Dan and his

crew a ride. That person was Allen Simo-

neau, a local fabricator and racing enthu-

siast in his own rite. Allen would become

a lifelong friend and mentor to Dan. “Al-

len and I still get a good laugh about those

early days.”

It’s hard to say where the need for speed or

the love of racing came from. Dan seems

to be the only person in his family with such

a burning passion in that arena. “It’s just

always been there,” he says, “Maybe I had

something to prove, maybe it was just a

whole lot of fun.” He may have started a

legacy though. When you ask his three-

year old son what he wants to do when he

grows up he promptly replies, “I’m going

to drive a fast race car to college!” And

what of Dan’s childhood friends? His Crew

Chief, Derek, went on to be a mechanic.

Miles became an accomplished motorcycle

racer...and Joe, well, he became a State

Police Officer, the kind they worked so hard

to elude as kids!

Racing Roots

I BUILT RACE CARS IN MY DRIVEWAY, JUST FIGURING IT OUT AS I WENT!

I WAS JUST A KID, BUT I WAS GETTING SOME

THINGS FIGURED OUT...

1. ALWAYS VISUALIZE THE END RESULT. IF YOU CAN SEE IT, YOU CAN ACHIEVE IT.

2. PICTURE YOURSELF FROM THE FAN PERSPEC-TIVE.

3. DON’T BE ENVIOUS OF OTHER PEOPLE’S EQUIP-MENT. BE HAPPY WITH WHAT YOU HAVE.

4. DEVELOP A RELA-TIONSHIP WITH YOUR MACHINE. LET IT HAVE A PERSONALITY.

5. FALL SEVEN TIMES, GET UP EIGHT.

6. LISTEN AND BE RE-SPECTFUL OF THE PEO-PLE THAT ARE AT THE LEVEL YOU ARE STRIVING FOR.

7. BEHIND EVERY GREAT MAN IS A GREAT WOMAN. FIND A PARTNER WHO COMPLIMENTS YOUR STRENGTHS AND MAKES UP FOR YOUR SHORT-COMINGS.

7 lessons learned




taking to the

SKY

When Dan decided, around 2000,

to make a career change from struc-

tural welding to something that

would give him a chance to expand

his welding and fabrication skills he

found employment at a local FBO. It

was close to home and Dan thought

it just might prove to be the oppor-

tunity he needed to further explore

his budding interest in aviation. “My

grandfather was a civilian pilot,” says

Marcotte. I didn’t know him, but my

aunts and uncles all say that I remind

them of him.”

Dan purchased an old hangar at the

end of the field and promptly lo-

cated a Mirage Ultra-light. “I read

an old copy of Stick & Rudder and I

had plenty of guidance and coach-

ing from pilot friends on the field,”

recalls Marcotte. Some things just

come natural and it became quickly

apparent to everyone that Dan was

meant to be in the sky.

“Those were the most carefree

days. There’s nothing quite like the

freedom you experience flying ultra-

lights,” recalls Dan. “Growing up

I was the kid that wanted the wind

blowing in my face. I wanted a fan

on next to my bed at night. I wanted

to stick my head out the car window,

lift up the visor on my motorcycle

helmet--being out there in the open

air just felt right in every way.”

Dan flew several ultra-lights and light

experimental aircraft in that first year

before flying hours in the company

plane, a little Darter whose wind-

shield was prone to cave in at certain

speeds. “We weren’t even officially

dating yet, I don’t think,” recalls Sar-

ah Jo. “Dan asked if he could take

me out. We took the Darter up over

Lake Champlain and the surrounding

areas. It was my first experience in

a small airplane. It was spectacular.

We got back to the airport at dusk,

Dan told me to look down at the air-

port as he circled the field. I watched

in awe as the blue runway lights lit

up. He won my heart.”

It wouldn’t take long for Dan to “out-

grow” ultra-lights and move on to air-

planes more capable of performing

the way he dreamed of. He spent the

next several years honing his skills.

“I remember being at Sun ‘N Fun

in 2010 and watching my heros like

Mike Goulian and Sean D. Tucker tear

up the sky, and thinking that level of

performance is still so far away for

me.” Two years later Wayne Boggs

invited Dan to join the Sun ‘N Fun line

up. The next year he flew the Boston

Portsmouth Air Show right along side

Mike Goulian and Sean D. Tucker.

“I want every kid to know that if you

are willing to do the work, to pay your

dues, and do what it takes, nothing is

out of reach,” says Marcotte.

THOSE WERE THE MOST CAREFREE DAYS. THERE’S NOTHING QUITE LIKE THE FREE-DOM YOU EXPERIENCE FLYING ULTRA-LIGHTS.

DAN LEARNED HOW TO FLY IN AN OLD MIRAGE

ULTRA-LIGHT, WITH A WELL-WORN COPY OF

“STICK & RUDDER”, ALL UNDER THE WATCHFUL

EYES AND DIRECTION OF SEASONED PILOTS.

NOT HAVING A WAY TO GET THE RACE CAR TO THE TRACK AT AGE 16 DIDN’T STOP HIM. HE PUT A SIGN ON HIS LAWN AND SOMEONE DID STOP AND OFFER A RIDE. THAT PERSON BECAME A LIFELONG FRIEND AND MENTOR.

Dan raced the oval tracks of New England

for the decade that spanned the 1990’s.

“Stock car racing was different then,” he

recalls. “There were fewer regulations.

Drivers had more freedom to set up cars

in creative ways. That reality is what al-

lowed to me to be a consistent force on

the circuit. I never had the best car, or

the fastest car, but I could set up my cars

and I could drive them, hard.” Dan esti-

mates he built nearly twenty stock cars

in his racing career going through two or

more in some seasons.

For most of the first half of his racing ca-

reer he was going to school full time, still

just a kid. “I would go to school, come

home, work on my car until the wee

hours of the morning and then head off

to stock produce at a local supermarket

at 3AM. I’d finish up in time to head back

to school and do it all over again.” One

thing is for sure, no one could ever ac-

cuse Marcotte of being lazy or unmoti-

vated.

He quickly built a reputation on the track

for being a driven, no-nonsense com-

petitor. “I was doing cross country ski

racing in the winter to get in shape for

boxing. Then I boxed and raced through

the spring, summer, and fall,” says Dan.

He was young, in shape, and most of all

determined to push for personal excel-

lence, no matter what. “I had broken

bones and scars to prove it,” he says,

“Now, it’s mostly arthritis that reminds

me of those days out on the track, beat-

ing my way through the lineup.”

DRIVEN to

succeed




Shortly after returning from Bonneville

Dan took a job as a mechanic at a local

State Airport. “I had started to become

intrigued with the idea of flying,” says

Dan. Never one to let obstacles stand in

his way he started reading an old copy

of Stick & Rudder and began looking for

something to fly. His first plane with a

Mirage Ultra-light. “I flew that thing ev-

erywhere,” says Marcotte. “Being out in

the open air like that, with no barriers, it

was absolutely exhilarating.”

It didn’t take long for Dan to start look-

ing for ways to parlay his racing abilities

and desire for speed into his new found

love of flight. The National Champion-

ship Air Races in Reno, Nevada seemed

like the ideal destination. Just two years

later with only eighty hours on a pri-

vate pilot’s license (earned that year),

Dan arrived at the Pylon Racing Semi-

nar. The officials sent him home with

orders to get as many flying hours in

as possible before the competition. “I

may have only had eighty hours of fly-

ing time, but most of those hours were

spent in my Cassutt, so in many ways

I was more prepared than other more

experienced pilots who only flew their

Formula One planes once a season. “

The rookie proved himself in short

order, taking home 4th place in the

Formula One Bronze Class. “I raced

at Reno like I raced stock cars at Air-

borne Speedway, compensating for

limited equipment with strategy

oval track in the sky As a young boy growing up in rural,

Northwest Vermont Dan always had a

penchant for speed. Whether racing

dirt bikes, motorcycles, or old cars for

the sheer fun of it, he was always on a

personal quest on the speed frontier.

By sixteen he was racing stock cars and

began nurturing a personal dream to

build a car that would go 200 MPH. In

the world of speed this is a modest

goal at best, but for a kid it seemed like

a paramount achievement. “It always

seems like I’m two generations behind

my time,” reflects Marcotte. “I’m setting

out to accomplish things that have long

been accomplished before.” This fact has

never deterred him from pursuing his

goals with fervor.

In the fall of 2001 Dan had just finished

building his shop, was sleeping on a cot

in the corner next to an old wood stove

(until he finished the upstairs apart-

ment) and had just completed his open-

wheeled Lakester. “I pieced it together

with whatever materials and parts I

could rummage up. Looking back it was

kind of laughable, but I was so proud of

that car, I still am,” muses Dan.

Without access to an enclosed trailer,

Dan and his two long-time friends,

brothers Ben and Baxter Weed, shrink-

wrapped the entire car and loaded it up

on Dan’s race car trailer. The 3,000 mile

trek across the county pulling the car

with an old Chevy van was an adventure,

to say the least. Ben tinkered and tuned

the van’s engine most of the way there.

The guys had reservations that they

could even clear the Rocky Mountains in

Wyoming, even discussing the possibil-

ity of pulling the van with the Lakester...

and only half joking about that. They ar-

rived just in time to set up their pit and

meet with the tech team.

I WILLED THAT CAR

OVER 200 MPH. MAYBE

IT NEVER SHOULD HAVE

GONE THAT FAST, BUT

THAT MACHINE AND I,

WE HAD AN AGREEMENT

AND WE BOTH LIVED UP

TO IT.

200 MPH RealityGOING 200MPH IN A VEHICLE THAT HE BUILT WAS A CHILDHOOD DREAM FOR DAN.

The officials had a lot of concerns. If

you’ve watched “The World’s Fastest In-

dian” you’ll have some idea about how

it all played out. The officials gave Dan

the chance to prove himself, and the car,

on the short track, hesitantly clearing

him for a 140MPH run and limiting his

top speed for the meet to 175MPH. Dan

blew through that at 178MPH. By the

end of the week even the officials were

pulling for Dan and his quest to break

200MPH. “By the end the tires were lift-

ing off the ground,” recalls Dan. “I didn’t

know if there was anything else I could

do, but I’ve always had a unique rela-

tionship with my machines. I had some

quiet time with the car and we decided

to give it everything we had.” On the last

run of the last day of racing Dan not only

achieved his goal, he broke it. The timing

slip read 202.987. “It remains the biggest

and most important accomplishment of

my racing career,” says Marcotte.

and grit,” says Marcotte with a

chuckle. Rumor has it, as a re-

sult, some of the rules may have

changed after that year.

For Marcotte it was a once in a life-

time opportunity. By age thirty

he had competed in two of the

world’s most prestigious race are-

nas, and in both cases had done so

successfully.




Dan achieved his personal goal of building and driving

a car to go 300 MPH on the Bonneville Salt Flats in

Wendover, Utah in October 2010. Dan and his crew

made the 3,000 mile trip to the historic Salt Flats for

the Southern California Timing Association’s (SCTA)

World Finals. The annual event draws land speed en-

thusiasts from all over the world to witness the fast-

est motor sport on earth. This was Dan’s fifth trip to

the Salt Flats. In 2001 he achieved a personal goal of

200 MPH when he raced an open-wheeled Lakester

that he designed and built to 202.987 MPH. Over the

next six years Dan built and modified a supercharged

streamliner to run in the A/BGS class. A stands for the

engine size (up to 500 cubic inches), BG for type of fuel

(blown gas), and S for body type (streamliner). Dan

left his 2009 top speed of 276.9 MPH in a trail of salt

achieving 294 MPH on his first run. The aerodynamic

changes made to the car over the course of the previ-

ous year really paid off gaining him over 20MPH using

the same engine set up. On the second run made on

Thursday, October 7th Dan’s exit speed through the

5th mile marker topped 300.104MPH- another person-

al goal achieved for the man from Bakersfield whose

life plays out in the fulfillment of dreams that most of

us can’t even imagine bringing to fruition. Prior to Au-

gust 15, 2010 these first two runs would have brought

a long-standing land speed record back to Vermont in

the A/BGS class. That 286 MPH record was broken by

the Spectre Performance team during the Speed Week

Event at the Bonneville Salt Flats a month earlier when

they went 356 MPH. Was Dan deterred? “My goal was pure and was never clouded by dreams of re-cord runs or anything...it was the dream of building a car that would go 300 MPH,” Dan told Dick Gor-

don during an interview the aired on American Public

Media’s THE STORY with DICK GORDON on Friday,

October 1, 2010. And so he did!

That last week on the Salt Flats was one of learning for

Dan and his crew. Subsequent runs down the 8 mile

course couldn’t top the 300 MPH run. The new speeds

put him in a new arena where every adjustment made

to gain more speed took the crew into territory they’ve

yet to explore. Every little change to the supercharged

engine set up is an experiment from here on out.

Only two other cars completed runs faster than Dan’s

8270 A/BG Streamliner at the World Finals event that

year, a testament to his sheer determination and dedi-

cation to making his dreams reality. Over the course

of the week Dan’s pit was visited by some “Salt Leg-

ends” including Skip Hedrich and Tom Burkland who

stopped by to see the beautiful streamliner topping

300 MPH, built and driven by “a kid from Vermont.”

Their sincere feedback and interest was a special gift

of validation for the countless hours of hard work that

Dan has put into this project. Thanks to Dan’s inter-

view on The Story with Dick Gordon an even wider au-

dience of people have had the chance to be inspired

by Dan’s dream. “I just wanted you to know that all

four sections of my 8th Grade English and Literature

class are listening to Dan Marcotte¹s story in class to-

day and tomorrow. They just did some short writing

assignments on the line Forgetting dreams is easy

from William Kamkwamba’s The Boy Who Harnessed

the Wind, and it is a fun break for them to hear about

someone who did not so easily forget his dream,” a

junior high teacher responded to Dan’s interview.

Where has this dream taken him? In the nine years

from that first trip remarks from the SCTA Officials went

from a reserved “lets see if you can control this thing

at 140MPH” to an excited “next on the line the 8270

A/BG Streamliner driven by Dan Marcotte...watch out

folks...FAST car!”

fulfilling DREAMS on the historic

BONNEVILLE salt flats

IT TOOK 9 YEARS, A NEW

CAR, A LOT OF MODIFICA-

TION, AND FOUR MORE

TRIPS TO THE SALT, BUT

WE DID IT. 300 MPH WAS

A POWERFUL ACCOM-

PLISHMENT FOR ME AND

MY TEAM. MAYBE THE JET

CAR WILL TAKES US TO

THE NEXT GOAL?




dan marcotte

AIRSHOWS

On his way home from Reno and the National Championship

Air Races in the fall of 2003 Dan competed in his first IAC Com-

petition with his Cassutt IIIM Formula One plane. Without an

inverted fuel system, Dan had to be creative in the way he

flew the little orange plane, focusing, as all competitors do, on

energy management. Although Dan found value in compet-

ing his goal was always to perform at air shows. He actually

flew the Cassutt for a few of those first shows including an air

show at Saranac Lake, NY. Dan quickly sought out a plane that

would keep up with his style of flying and showmanship. A

chat with fellow air show pilot, Rob Holland, introduced Dan to

a Super AcroSport that had been collecting dust in a hangar in

southern New Hampshire. Dan fell in love with the AcroSport.

What could be better that flying open cockpit in a friendly bi-

plane, right? After a couple of years Dan’s skills had outgrown

the AcroSport. After much consideration and looking, he set-

tled on the Ultimate 10-200 Biplane, and couldn’t be happier!

{Now he fulfills his need for open cockpit flying with a spiffy

little Baby Lakes}.

Designed by Gordon Price, the Ultimate is a unique biplane.

It’s four, full span ailerons provide a 400 degree per second roll

rate. It also utilizes an aileron/elevator interconnect system

that produces unique low speed flight characteristics.

Dan enters his maneuvers at speeds of up to 250 MPH.

Stressed for +/- 10 Gs, Dan operates the airplane at G loads

of up to plus 9 and minus 6 G’s. With just the right balance of

classic aerobatics, unique tumbles, tail slides, spins, and signa-

ture maneuvers, Dan’s show keeps the audience riveted from

take-off to landing.

Dan’s unique background in racing and aviation, his infectious

enthusiasm, and his innate ability to become “one” with his

machine captivates audiences everywhere he performs.

Dan takes great pride in the industry relationships and reputa-

tion he has built over the past decade. Promoters have easy

access to all required paperwork, documentation, and market-

ing materials through the promoter page at danmarcotteair-shows.com

Dan Marcotte’s air show has now become a highly antici-pated feature of our July 3rd Independence Day Celebra-tion in Burlington Vermont. Approximately 100,000 attend this one day event across the city and Dan’s air show is now a tradition. The show always receives outstanding re-views from the public.

With the complexity of incorporating an air show on the waterfront, Dan Marcotte and his crew are always very or-ganized and followed every strict regulation.

If you are in the market for an air show performer I would highly recommend Dan Marcotte AirShows.

Maggie Leugers, CPRPRecreation SuperintendentBurlington Parks & Recreation

“I ALWAYS STOP TO WATCH DAN’S HIGH-ENERGY AEROBAT-

ICS. BUT WHAT MAKES DAN STAND OUT IS HIS HIGH-ENERGY

PERSONALITY. DAN’S ALWAYS UP, ALWAYS READY, AND EASY

TO WORK WITH. THE AUDIENCE QUICKLY CONNECTS.”

-GREG KOONTZ, THE ALABAMA BOYS | 2014 BILL BARBER AWARD

I FLEW MY FIRST IAC COMPETITION IN MY

CASSUTT IIIM ON MY WAY BACK FROM THE

RENO AIR RACES IN 2003. I FLEW MY FIRST

AIR SHOWS IN THAT CASSUTT BEFORE MOV-

ING TO A SMITH MINI PLANE, THEN A SUPER

ACROSPORT AND FINALLY THE ULTIMATE 10-

200 BIPLANE.

photo: Wayne S. Tarr




EVERYONE HAS A GIFT TO SHARE. IT’S

YOUR JOB TO KEEP DEVELOPING YOUR

SKILLS AND SHARE THEM WITH THE

WORLD!


SPECIAL EDITION

DAN MAGAZINE DECEMBER 201415 U

LTIM

AT

Een

tert

aini

ng

“I’VE ALWAYS BEEN THE GUY WHO COULD MAKE LIMITED EQUIPMENT PERFORM IN AMAZING WAYS. THE ULTIMATE IS THE PERFECT PLANE FOR ME!”

“The Ultimate 10-200 Biplane has

been the perfect plane for me,” says

Dan. “I’ve considered a Pitts or a

Laser or one of a dozen other high

performance planes and I just keep

coming back to the Ultimate. We’re

a unique feature on the air show

circuit.” It’s true. The Ultimate is a

unique plane. Very few were built.

Everyone knows they are looking at

something just a little different when

they see it up close. It’s got a lot of

energy and presents really well “front

and center.”

If you absolutely want your

crowd to be on the edge of

their chairs in excitement, Dan

is the one to get them there.

Dan Marcotte has been flying

in our show since the begin-

ning, and it has been the best

decision we have made on the

use of a performer. I have fre-

quently had inquiries from our

patrons about the man with

the great laugh and suspenders

giving them such a precise, up-

front, and heart-pounding low

performance. You won’t regret

adding Dan Marcotte AirShows

to your performer roster.

-Thorne Harkin

Air Show Coordinator

Reading Air Fest, Reading, PA

Several sponsors make Dan Marcotte

AirShows a reality for the fans and

spectators. Dan is proud to say thank

you to: Catto Propellers, Strong En-

terprises, Hooker Harness, Vedalo

HD, Sky Dynamics, CJ Aviation, One

Off Builders, Scoot Air LLC, Good-

year Aviation, Green Mountain Avi-

onics, and Northern Aero Services

for their continued support, and out-

standing products and services.

On April 18, 2014, Dan experienced a cata-

strophic mechanical failure when his prop and

hub departed causing a chain of events that re-

sulted in the engine detaching from the fire wall.

At about 1,000 feet Dan was able to success-

fully complete his egress procedure and depart

the plane as it destructed in air. Dan’s parachute

by Strong Enterprises deployed effortlessly and

Dan “landed” with barely a scratch in the top

of a lone tree. The Ultimate Biplane was a total

loss. With the support of many industry friends

and sponsors Dan was able to locate, purchase

and rebuild another Ultimate 10-200. Just six

weeks after the incident he was back in the air.

Dan completed a successful 2014 season and

wowed hundreds of thousands of fans in the

sporty new black & yellow Ultimate. People

love to see the biplane perform. It’s hard to be-

lieve the Ultimate is just a four cylinder, 200HP

machine. “I’ve always been the guy who could make limited equipment perform in amazing ways. The Ultimate is the perfect plane for me,” says Marcotte.

THE

ULTIM

ATE BIPLA

NE

WA

S D

ESIGN

ED BY C

AN

AD

IAN

PILOT,

GO

RDO

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AN

AN

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S.

photo (L&R): Wayne S. Tarr




LIFE IS GOOD! WHAT A GIFT TO BE ABLE

TO PERFORM FOR SOME OF THE BEST

FANS IN THE WORLD. LOVING WHAT

YOU DO MAKES LIFE SO MUCH MORE

FUN!





Dan’s family focus makes

for an exceptionally positive

experience for air show au-

diences. Not only does he

strive to put on an entertain-

ing show in the air, he en-

tertains on the ground, too,

with his infectious laugh,

his beaming smile, and his

friendly interactions with

fans, especially kids. “Kids

need positive role models,

opportunities to see that

you can make your dreams

come true with hard work!”

says Dan.

“Thanks so much for the great show today, Dan. The kids at Open Doors Camp were thrilled. You are a great talent and a class act!” -Kirsten Brown

On August 15, 2011 Dan and Sarah Jo wel-comed their little “co-pilot” into the world. Will Alvery Marcotte charmed his Daddy from moment one! Struggling to choose a name, Dan selected “Will” because he and his childhood friends used to deter-mine if opponents (race cars, motorcycles, dirt bikes, fellow Golden Gloves boxers) had “the will” (were they a worthy oppo-nent?). The name seemed fitting for Dan’s first-born baby boy. Alvery was chosen as a middle name in honor of Dan’s grandfa-ther, Alvery Marcotte, the only other pilot in Dan’s family.

“Having a child has added a dimension to life that I couldn’t have imagined pos-sible,” says Dan. “Will is such a cool kid!” Will sure is a Daddy’s boy, spending time in the shop, working right along side Dan and the guys on whatever project happens to be in the works. He’s a clever problem solver and has his Dad’s sense of humor.

Dan theFamily Man

“ HAVING A CHILD HAS ADD-ED A DIMENSION TO LIFE THAT I COULDN’T HAVE IMAGINED POSSI-BLE. WILL IS A SUCH A COOL KID! „

Dan Marcotte is a superb showman, pilot and all around good guy. We

really enjoyed hosting Dan, his aircraft

and family. Over three days, our fans

very much appreciated his aerobatic

skills. His show is punchy, and demon-

strates his flying skills and what he can

make an airplane do as a performer.

He believes in safety first and prac-

tices this despite aggressive manoeu-

vres.

Dan is not only loved by the crowds but by his fellow pilots and air show organizers. When one well-

known Canadian performer’s aircraft

suffered a cracked engine-manifold

exhaust, Dan took one late evening

to remove the engine part and drive

down to Vermont from Canada, so he

could weld and repair the part for the

performer. Dan’s generous gesture

saved the show not only for the pilot,

but also ensured we had a complete

program.

Dan’s good humor and always think-

ing of others was one of the high-

lights of our Air Show. The air show community in North America has much respect for his flying skills, his personality and creative talents in his machine shop. Dan believes the

air show community is one big fam-

ily and his actions speak louder than

just words. Dan Marcotte is a consum-

mate professional. Did I mention he is

an all around good guy?

Joseph Singerman

Director of Air Operations

Eastern Townships Airshow

Rave Review




I TAUGHT MYSELF HOW TO WELD AS A KID, BUILT MY SKILLS IN A WELDING BOOTH, AND REFINED THEM WITH PLENTY OF HARD WORK AND COACHING.

HAVING WELDING AND FABRICATION SKILLS HAS

OPENED UP SO MANY OPPORTUNITIES. THE ABIL-

ITY TO COME UP WITH A CONCEPT AND THEN

BUILD IT IN YOUR OWN SHOP IS INVALUABLE.

AS PART OWNER OF BIPLANE IN-

VESTMENTS LLC HERE IN NORTH-

ERN VERMONT, I CAN PERSONAL-

LY ATTEST TO DAN MARCOTTE’S

SUPERIOR WELDING AND FABRI-

CATION SKILLS. WE HAVE USED

DAN EXTENSIVELY OVER THE

PAST 10 YEARS FOR WELDING

OUR AVIATION FUEL TANKS.

-JASON GRIEFF

MASTERwelder & fabricator

D a n ’s

professional background as a

welder has proven to be a valuable

asset. He has spent years building

a fabrication shop that allows him

to tackle even the most complex

projects. The MindWorks Creative

Metal Fabrication shop has pro-

duced countless aviation and racing

projects including custom fuel tanks,

Cub fuselage repairs and rebuilds,

custom motorcycle chassis, stock

cars, street rods, and land speed

cars. Dan even added a wood work-

ing shop last year, has built a custom

motor boat and has a hydroplane in

the works.

Lately, nights have been focused on

building the Dan Marcotte AirShows

jet car. One quick look and you can

see the influence of Dan’s background

in racing. The chassis is reminiscent of

a beefed-up dirt modified. Powered

by a GE J85 engine from a Northrop

Freedom Fighter, the car is taking Dan

and his crew into new territory. “This

is our first experience with jet engine

technology. It’s a learning experi-

ence,” says Dan. The car is entering

test phase and Marcotte is hopeful to

have the car running this winter. “It has

a lot of potential. We’re excited at

the prospect of expanding our show

to include the jet car!”

Earlier this year Dan completed a rebuild

of fellow air show performer, Matt Chap-

man’s Cub. “The Cub frame is back

home! Not only is it home... It’s now

in perfect shape thanks to Dan

M a r -

cotte!” Matt posted on his Face-

book page. Over the years Dan has

gained a reputation as the go-to guy for

fuselage repair, fuel tank construction,

and specialized welding. This summer

when fellow air show pilot, and designer

of the Ultimate Biplane, Gordon Price,

found a crack in his exhaust at an air

show, Dan came to the rescue. The ex-

haust required titanium rod and a skilled

hand. Dan had both.

“My welding and fabrication skills have

allowed me to keep busy with work in

my shop, supplementing my income

throughout the year, and affording me

the opportunity to build some incred-

ible machines. As a welding instructor

I always encourage people, of all ages,

to pursue skill development that will

make you not only more employable,

but more self-reliant as well.

WE BUILD A LOT OF

FUEL TANKS AND

COMPLETE FUSELAGE

REPAIRS & REBUILDS

FOR OUR CUSTOMERS



22 23

Hi Dan, My family and I just met and saw you at the Keene Air and Car show. I thought it was really decent of you to autograph pic-tures and give them to my kiddos. You are their new hero and I have never seen more insane flying in my life! I am also a Forever Fan! Thank you so much for your time, Ben

It’s notes like this from fans, the interactions

he has at shows, and the close-knit air show

family that keeps Dan focused on performing.

A performer at heart, Dan has thrived on stag-

es since childhood. Whether that stage was

a dirt oval track, an eight mile stretch of salt,

pylons in the desert, a packed crowd line, or

an actual stage lined with fans ready to listen

to him play some rock ‘n roll, Dan is most at

home entertaining fans. His magnetic person-

ality, contagious laugh, unselfish loyalty, and

endless supply of amazing stories are all rea-

sons why people just want to be around him,

want to be entertained my him, and want to

call him “friend.”

(Dan hangs out with local radio personality, Tara

Madison, of Star 92.9 before a show in Burlington)

Dan exceeded all of our expectations, both in the air and on the ground. His high en-ergy performance amazed the crowd and his personal interaction with the fans was tremendous. His professionalism and coop-erative demeanor in working with air show staff and volunteers was noticed and ap-preciated by all. I look forward to working with him again.

-Marty McMahon, Air Show Director Great State of Maine Air Show

motivation to keep on pushing

for excellence

GREAT CONNECTION WITH EACH PERSON, IN THE AIR AND ON THE TARMAC - THE GUY YOU WANT TO BE FRIENDS WITH! A

GREAT INSPIRATION! -DOMINIQUE, FAN

THE

FAN

S KE

EP M

E CO

MIN

G

BACK

! N

ORT

H A

MER

ICA

N A

IR

SHO

WS

HAV

E SO

ME

OF

THE

BEST

FA

NS

IN T

HE

WH

OLE

WO

RLD

!

Dan Marcotte is an outstanding performer.

Folks who have attended our “Wings &

Wheels Spectacular” have been outspoken

in their appreciation for his performance. It

is always an “edge of your seat” exhibition

of flying skill; he has come to us for a num-

ber of years and each visit exceeds the last.

Dan will be back for upcoming shows!

Karl Erickson

Owls Head Transportation Museum, Maine


DAN MAGAZINE

024

www.danmarcotteairshows.com

Contact Us Today!Dan Marcotte or Sarah Jo Willey

PO Box 103 | Bakersfield, Vermont 05441(802) 827-3297

[email protected]


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