Innovative Cost-Effective and High-Temperature Portable Helipad Navy SBIR FY2012.2 Sol No.: Navy SBIR FY2012.2 Topic No.: N122-109 Topic Title: Innovative Cost-Effective and High-Temperature Portable Helipad Proposal No.: N122-109-0870 Firm: Frontier Performance Polymers Corporation 3328 Belt Road Dover, New Jersey 07801-2933 Contact: Jerry Chung Phone: (973) 989-8463 Web Site: www.frontierpolymer.com Abstract: The objective of this SBIR Phase I proposal is to develop a lightweight, cost-effective, and high-temperature resistant portable helipad for future helicopters and vertical landing aircrafts. Portable helipads are critical for forward operating bases, and enable aircrafts to land in any area safely and quickly without causing the brownout. The current technology is very effective for rotary crafts, but not for other vertical take-off and landing and thrust vectored aircrafts due to thermal limitations. Frontier will propose a novel material system to allow increased temperature sustainability and provide the Navy and Marine with the advanced material technology they need to facilitate future vehicles safely where brownout conditions may arise. Feasibility of the design to meet thermal, air permeability, and mechanical requirements as well as effectively suppress dust kick up will be outlined and systematically studied. Cost, required manpower, installation, manufacturability, reliability, and maintainability will also be analyzed for various design solutions. Benefits: Once the proposed concepts are validated and demonstrated in Phase I, the proposed novel lightweight and cost effective fabric system can be used for high temperature resistant helipad applications for navy and Marin's future vertical take-off and landing aircrafts. The anticipate benefits from this proposed effort include: capable of sustain exhaust gas up to 650F for 20 minutes per landing for more than 5000 landing, meeting air permeation requirements through carefully designing the weave patterns, possessing excellent UV exposure resistance for lasting at least ten years in the field, compatible with all existing installation equipment and polyester helipads, developing durable grommet design capable of sustain high pull force at high temperature, affordable cost and low maintenance cost, and requiring minimum manpower to install and maintain Return