Project Phoenix began with an outing to the Tulsa Air & Space Museum by a delegation from TARA. Our intent was to determine whether the Club should have some sort of presence in the Museum, and if so, what form it should take. Initially, we were thinking we might donate a few HPR rockets and have a small display set up, where Museum visitors could see some rockets, pick up a Club brochure, etc.

However, upon arriving at the Museum we discovered they have a lot of cool artifacts in a very limited area. The Museum is currently in a temporary location while they seek funds to build a new building, and in the meantime, space is at a premium. We spoke with the Curator and he was excited to have the Club represented in the Museum, but suggested we do something other than a simple static display.

Then we noticed the Museum’s F14 Tomcat fighter jet sitting in the middle of the main gallery. An F-14 is a huge, impressive machine but one thing that was obviously missing from this one was the normal compliment of missiles under the wings. The military doesn’t provide those to civilian museums, for obvious reasons. The Curator commented that many of the kids who see the F-14 for the first time ask, “Where are the missiles”?

Of course, with the F-14, the Phoenix missile immediately comes to mind. So we said to the Curator “What if” the Club was to build a scale model Phoenix missile for display on the F-14? He thought that was a GREAT idea, and thus Project Phoenix was born.

The current plan is to build a full-scale AIM-54C Phoenix missile for eventual display at the Museum. The missile will be 15 inches in diameter and 13 feet long and will be as realistic as we can make it, down to bolt heads and rivets. However, our first stop will be LDRS 21 in Amarillo this coming July, where we hope to FLY the missile on an M or N. After LDRS, the missile will be donated to the Museum and will become a permanent part of the F-14 exhibit.