Pit-stop smarts: NASCAR windshield laminates gaining military following.

• Author: Pappalardo, Joe
• Position: National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing - Cover Story

Taking a page from NASCAR's hook on windshield maintenance, Army helicopters are receiving new coatings designed to reduce damage from rocks and debris.

The coatings are made of Mylar, a polyester film first created in the 1950's, and feature the ability to be peeled away, which leaves the windshield beneath unscratched. The inspiration for the product, military officials said, was NASCAR's application of the coatings to hardened plastic windshields.

Pro-tint Inc. and United Protective Technologies Inc., both based in North Carolina, have teamed up to adapt their racetrack-proven windshield screens for use on military helicopters.

The private sector provided an almost ready-made solution to a new problem facing the U.S. military, with a company simply waiting to be called.

"A lot of times, the Army reacts to problems instead of being said Nathan Bordick, an engineer working on the project at the Aviation Applied Technology Directorate in Fort Eustis, Va. "Someone just said, 'Hey, NASCAR is doing this--why can't we.

Pro-tint introduced its tear-away film to race teams in 1997, after NASCAR officials required a switch to Lexan windshields rather than stock glass to protect drivers from flying debris.

Lexan is a clear, tough plastic that is widely used in various applications, from bus stop windbreaks to security windows. However shatterproof; Lexan tends to chip, and if scratched, the sun's glare can create a white haze that impedes a driver's view. After several hundred miles, the damage makes the windshields nearly impossible to see through.

And so a market was born. Coatings began to appear on the racing circuits, with Stove Fricker, of Pro-tint, producing a tear-off coating to preserve the Lexan. The thin layer provides a degree of strength to the glass, but its true advantage lies in the ability to be stripped away, removing any superficial damage.

Pro-tint's product was designed to endure speeds reaching more than 200 miles per hour without coming ore It reduces ultraviolet radiation by 99 percent without hampering visibility, and features 33,100 pounds per square inch of tensile strength.

Pro-tint partnered with United Protective to market the product to the defense industry. It was not received warmly until windshield damage from harsh desert conditions started plaguing the helicopter fleets in Iraq and Afghanistan during recent engagements.

The polycarbonate/glass, shatterproof windshields of helicopters are similar to the NASCAR's...