I was watching some model rocket launch videos on YouTube, and I came across a couple that involved people launching interesting items in their payload bay. It made me start to think more creatively about my model rocket payload options.
What are some model rocket payload ideas? The payload bay of your model rocket is only limited by its size and your creativity. From data gathering devices and cameras to crepe paper and paratroopers, you can put almost anything in the payload bay of your model rocket.
In the ideas listed below, there is a little something for everyone. Some of them are highly practical while others are more for amusement purposes. Continue on to get some ideas that you can use at your next launch.
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Data Gathering and Electronic Payload Ideas
The payload section of a model rocket can be used to house equipment that will take accurate measurements of the flight for you. When the rocket returns to you, you will be able to take that data and use it to make your rocket better, or just for curiosity purposes.
Model rockets have also long been used for experimentation for science fairs and science projects. These devices could help if you are planning such an undertaking.
Remember with these devices, the smaller and lighter the better. They need to fit the diameter of the rocket, and you don’t want them slowing the rocket down.
Altimeter
Altimeters have been used in model rockets for years. If you’ve never used your payload bay for data gathering, altimeters are a good place to start.
If you don’t need your altimeter to do anything special, like operate a dual deployment recovery system, the Estes Altimeter (link to read reviews on Amazon) is a great option for model rockets. It weighs .32 ounce and can accurate measure altitudes up to 9,999 feet, which is higher than any of the model rockets they sell can fly.
If you’re looking to fly your model rocket higher than 10,000 feet, you might want to go with Jolly Logic’s AltimeterOne (link to read reviews on Amazon). This altimeter can accurately record altitude up to 29,500 feet. It has a rechargeable battery, and it saves data from up to 100 flights. Unfortunately, the data cannot be downloaded to a computer. It only weighs .36 ounces. Alternatively, the AltimeterThree will download all of your data to a smartphone via bluetooth.
If you are using the Estes Altimeter or the AltimeterOne, or another similar style altimeter, loading it into your model rocket’s payload bay is easy. You can use foam to cushion the altimeter and to hold it in place, so it doesn’t bump around the payload bay during the flight.
You may also have to drill tiny holes in the payload bay. The instruction manual that comes with your Altimeter should be able to help you figure out where to put the hole(s).
There is another altimeter option commonly used in model rockets. It works the same way as the other two, but it doesn’t come in a case and you have to wire it up yourself. The below video shows how to wire a competition style altimeter like the Micro Peak. The process is simpler than you might think.
There are several varieties of altimeters that are sold in this way where you have to wire them up yourself. They all offer different features like dual deployment activation, acceleration recording, or collection of other types of data.
The benefit of using a competition style altimeter is that it does not have a case, so it is extra lightweight. The Micro Peak, for example weigh less than 3 grams which is about .1 ounces.
Accelerometer
An accelerometer can measure the rate at which your model rocket accelerates. Most accelerometers can measure both the average speed of the model rocket as well as the top speed.
If you’re interested in measuring the speed of your model rocket, you might start out by using the Jolly Logic AltimeterThree (link to read reviews on Amazon) which doesn’t just calculate altitude or acceleration for that matter.
The AltimeterThree records or calculates tons of data including the peak altitude, peak and average acceleration, coast duration, time it takes to reach apogee, ejection time and altitude and more. That is a lot of data for something that weighs .37 ounces.
Even more amazing is that it sends all this data to an app on your Bluetooth enabled smartphone where the data is displayed as an easy to understand graph. From your phone, you can share your flight graph, or you can send an Excel spreadsheet with all the data to yourself or a friend.
See our post on Model Rocket Altimeters and Accelerometers for more info here.
Recovery Help
There is nothing worse than losing a rocket that you spent so much time building and preparing for launch. Well, there are some devices you can put in the payload of your rocket that can help you to retrieve it.
There are GPS trackers made for use in model rockets available, but they tend to be rather expensive, as in hundreds of dollars. To use them, you place the tracker in the payload of the rocket and then use a handheld GPS unit to guide you to the rocket. It’s not as fancy looking as the GPS in your car, but it is very effective.
If you are looking for a less expensive option, you could try installing a beeper or a siren that will sound after the flight has ended. The Transolve Beep X, for example, only weighs 1.3 ounces, but it can emit and ear splitting siren that can be heard up to 500 feet away. Don’t launch over cornfields or tall grass without one.
The Kitchen Sink of Model Rocket Electronics
If you’re looking for the all in one for model rocket electronics, check out this video. The man in this video made a circuit for his model rocket that measures just about everything you could think of from altitude and acceleration to temperature to GPS and a buzzer that sounds when the model rocket lands.
This is seriously everything you could ever want in an electronics oriented payload, but perhaps a bit more than most of us require or our payload bay can hold.
Clear Payload Ideas
Adding a clear payload bay to your rocket is as simple as adding or swapping out a payload tube. Estes sells a variety pack of clear payload tubes (link to check price on Amazon) that will fit most sizes of rocket. The tubes can be attached to your rocket using an appropriately sized coupler.
Once you have the payload tube connected to the rocket, you can fill it with whatever you’d like and watch the item zip away out of sight. Below I will share with you some ideas I came I across.
Camera
One of the more common things to place in a clear payload is a small camera. The camera would have to be small enough to fit the diameter of the tube, but they exist.
I have even seen where someone takes apart a keychain camera and fits it comfortably into his model rocket’s payload bay. You can check out that tutorial here.
Lightweight and mountable, we like the Mate808 (link to read reviews on Amazon) for quick filming. For more extensive reading and examples see our post on Model Rocket Cameras With Examples of Footage.
If you decide to fit a camera into the model rocket’s payload bay, be sure to use foam or some other method of keeping the camera in place so that it doesn’t bump around the tube during flight. This could damage your camera and you wouldn’t get a very good video.
Lights
A clear payload bay is screaming for a nighttime launch. Flying at night should be done with a group and with certain precautions taken to ensure everyone’s safety, and make sure you let the neighbors know so they don’t think that empty field across the street is being visited by aliens.
To launch a model rocket at night, you have to put some sort of light on the rocket and a clear payload makes this simple. You could insert fairy lights, glow sticks, LED lights, or battery operated strobe lights.
The lights will look great against the dark sky and it will help you keep track of and retrieve your rocket. Some of these lighting ideas could be fun even in daylight.
Action Figures or Dolls
If you are building with kids who are still into action figures or dolls, launching a toy could be a really fun project for them. Avoid using a favorite toy because any model rocket flight comes with its own risks. If the rocket gets stuck in a power line or the motor CATOs… well, no kid needs to lose a favorite toy that way.
Just for Fun Ideas
Some of these ideas involve objects that do not leave the payload bay, but others are meant to scatter. Payloads that open and scatter items across the launch field are not encouraged by the NAR, but if you plan to do it make sure that these items have a proper recovery method like a small streamer of their own.
Also, be sure that everyone is a good distance from your launch locations and that everyone is heads up and paying attention in case a recovery method fails.
Get ready for some creative and some downright silly items you could put in your payload pay.
Egg
Putting an egg or two in the payload bay of a model rocket had been done for decades. The National Association of Rocketry hosts competitions called egglofts where an egg must reach the highest altitude possible without the egg breaking.
There is also a dual eggloft that is done with two eggs and an eggloft duration event to see whose egg can stay in the air the longest. These are a beloved competition for people of all ages.
This is a fun challenge and will get everyone involved thinking creatively about how to solve the problem of the egg.
Candy
If you’re launching on a special occasion, and there are a lot of children around, there is nothing better than launching a bunch of fun sized candy. It is like the world’s coolest pinata.
You can tape flame resistant crepe paper to each candy to ensure that no piece goes missing and that every piece descends at a slower rate.
To make sure that all the candy lands within retrieving distance, use a low altitude rocket to launch the payload.
Pennies
Pennies aren’t as exciting as they used to be to kids, but if you attach a penny to crepe paper, it adds a little weight to the streamer and the streamers come down nicely.
This is more for the wow effect than anything else, although a younger child might have fun collecting the shiny pennies as well.
Paratrooper Toy
Those toy soldier toys with the parachute attached provide hours of entertainment to children but getting them to float down from a truly impressive height is not possible without a little help from something like a model rocket.
Consider the timeless parachute toys, like these tangle-free paratroopers. Just make sure that it will fit in your specific rocket. If not, consider smaller paratroopers like these.
Sending a paratrooper sky high and having him slide out of the payload bay and float gently to the ground is a child’s dream, and even as an adult, it is pretty cool. Check out the below video of a rocket that launched with a paratrooper in its payload.
Any Toy Attached to a Parachute
Seriously, if you are launching with children just about any toy attached to an appropriately sized parachute will thrill them to no end. Matchbox cars, Barbie, or small figurines could all potentially fit in a payload with a parachute, depending on the size of the rocket.
Confetti, or something like it
So actual confetti will not be any fun. You probably won’t be able to see it coming out of the rocket, and the wind will likely carry it away before it reaches the launch site, but you can make model rocket appropriate confetti by cutting mylar into larger square pieces.
You could also use small flags without the wooden dowels attached to them. They would float down slowly and add a nice touch to a 4th of July celebration.
Neither of these ideas will work well from high altitudes, but it can add some serious pizazz to a low flying model rocket. You should also avoid “confetti” on windy days because the pieces will just float away on the wind. Also be sure that if you aren’t going to be able to pick up the pieces that it is biodegradable. The intent here isn’t to litter!
Roll of Toilet Paper
This is one of those silly ones. Your kids will get a kick out of it. Just make sure the toilet paper is ready to unroll so that it doesn’t come down like a rock. Depending on the size of the rocket, you may need to locate a rather small roll of toilet paper to make it happen.
An alternative to this would be a roll or two of colorful crepe paper from the dollar store. Be sure to prepare it to open readily.
Rockets with Unique Payloads
There are model rockets of the past and present that offer their own unique payload options. Estes has some discontinued models that take an unexpected twist with their payloads.
Estes Model Rockets with Clear Payloads
Why retrofit a clear payload when you can get a model rocket comes with one? Here are the Estes Model rockets that come with clear payloads.
Any one of these rockets offers a clear payload that can put whatever you’d like inside. The most common choice is of course a small camera.
Other Unique Payloads
The Estes Liquidator is no longer in the Estes catalog, but you can still find it from third party sites. It features a clear payload that can be filled with the liquid of your choosing. If you get a recording of the launch and watch it back in slow motion, you may be able to see how the liquid reacts to the launch.
The Quest Magnum Sport Motor Model Rocket has a large payload section that can fit up to two eggs, or whatever use you wanted to use as your payload. The cluster engine mount allows the rocket to soar over 1,000 feet.
The Eggstorminator is a specialty rocket designed for the NAR Fragile Payload Competition. It was designed to consistently launch an egg 984 feet into the air and return it to the ground in 60 seconds without breaking the egg. This is a great kit to start someone off in the competition.
The Hydra VII has a LARGE payload bay. It is approximately 10 inches long and has a 1.5 inch diameter. You could fit a lot of electronics, action figures, or both in this tube.
What Not to Put in Your Payload
There are a number of things that you should not put in the payload bay of your model rocket. Many of them are common sense objects, but it is worth saying.
- Do not put anything in your payload bay that could cause harm to another person or object.
- Do not put anything explosive in the payload bay.
- Do not put anything that is highly flammable in the payload bay.
- If something is meant to scatter, make sure it can do that safely. Use a streamer or parachute with the item.
A Note on Living Creatures
The National Association of Rocketry and the Tripoli Association of Rocketry do not allow for the launching of any vertebrate animals in the payload of a model rocket. They do allow insects.
But in general, it isn’t advisable to launch an insect either. There isn’t much to learn from launching a living creature because if the insect lives, you will simply know that is survived, but if it dies, you won’t know how or why. Some might view it as inhumane as well, so its best to just avoid launching anything that’s alive.
The bottom line is that launching any living creature is not necessary, but most organizations allow for the launching of beetles and other insects.
How much weight can a model rocket engine lift?
Before you get too carried away on adding heavy payload to your rocket, it’s important to keep in mind that they can only lift so much. You’ll want to make sure you aren’t exceeding the rocket engine’s carrying capacity. We put a guide together on “How Much Can a Model Rocket Engine Carry?” that that talks about how much model rockets can carry and how to calculate it for your own rocket.
Other Considerations
You may decide that in the end, you don’t want to put anything into the payload bay of your model rocket, or that you’re going to ditch the payload bay altogether. Some payload bay items serve a practical purpose, but even those add weight to the rocket. If you’re entering a competition or trying to break a personal record, you aren’t going to want to add needless extra weight.
Whatever you decide to do with your payload bay, just make sure it is serving your purpose even if that purpose is just to have a good time or get your kids excited about model rockets.
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