An all-FRP composites helipad was built with Cellobond~(TM) phenolic resin and vacuum infused fiber glass preforms for the roof of Cooper Hospital in Camden, NJ. As far as we know, this is the first time FRP composites have been used for this type of application on a building top. The project was in discussion for about 6 years, but the final effort took about 6 months of engineering, 3 months of fabrication and only ONE day to install. The designers did not want to use traditional steel material on the roof because of its weight, so they needed to design a light weight helipad in order not to have to reinforce the roof. Aluminum was not chosen because it would burn and melt too easily in case of a fuel fire in the event of a crash incident. The military, owner of the hospital, picked phenolic-matrix glass fiber fabric FRP composites to satisfy this set of criteria.
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