duckworks round vs. rectangular leading edge lights

Any suggestions on whether I should put the round or rectangular Duckworks lights on my -9A? I will be using one in each wing. From both Van's and Duckwork's sites it seems that the main difference is the internal reflector. Is there a bulb difference? Will one be easier or cheaper in the future to replace? Do both use the same shape/size cutout in the leading edge?

The initial kits cost $75 for the rectangular and $115 for the round, and I will be buying two of them, hence my question.

Thanks,

Steve

The round lights are probably their HID lights, the rectangular are basically fog lights. If you want cheap and want to do a landing light flasher, go with the rectangular lights. I don't think HID lights do to well with landing light flashers. The round HID lights are brighter though.

Thanks Scott. I think you're right regarding the HID as not being usable with a wig-wag (and I do intend to use a wig-wag switch). However, Duckworks does sell both round and rectangular "low-intensity" lights, hence my question. Since I originally posted, I think I've found the answer. Mostly, it seems duckworks made the round ones available because some people like the looks of the round lights better and because the round reflectors are apparently a little more efficient than the rectangular. That being said, there is otherwise no apparent difference except that the round actually require a bigger cut-out in the wing. That last detail confirmed that I'll be going with the regular (and smaller) rectangular version.

Thanks again,
Steve

I went with the rectangular Duckworks lights...

...and the day after I cut the first hole in the wing I saw a picture of a round landing light mounted in the wing tip and sure wish I had not cut that hole.

I'm still building so I can't comment on how well they work.

For cutting the hole in your wing skin I highly recommend using a body saw!

That saw has saved me a lot of time and energy and I highly recommend it!

alpinelakespilot2000 said:

Any suggestions on whether I should put the round or rectangular Duckworks lights on my -9A? I will be using one in each wing. From both Van's and Duckwork's sites it seems that the main difference is the internal reflector. Is there a bulb difference? Will one be easier or cheaper in the future to replace? Do both use the same shape/size cutout in the leading edge?

The initial kits cost $75 for the rectangular and $115 for the round, and I will be buying two of them, hence my question.

Click to expand...

I fitted the standard rectangulars to my RV-8 initially and flew around quite happy, but got curious when they introduced the rounds. Thinking they looked cool and would be a better light, I retrofitted one to one wing for a side by side comparison. Not good, the light is more narrowly focused and was not as useful -- I changed back.

FWIW

If you used the round you could easily convert to HID lights in the future.

Larry Rosen
RV-10 #356
<http://home.comcast.net/~rv10pilot/>

Wing Tip Lights

IMHO:

I like the Duckworks rectangulars I put in a -7. Always on the lookout for something new for another -7, I eyeballed the Van's demonstators last week and I came away with a low opinion of wing tip landing lights in the sheared tips. There's just too much stuffed into a small volume. Van's had a ~2" round light mounted as far above the tip center line as it could be placed, and the nav/strobe lights still infringed across the face of the lens. If you have a taildragger, two lights are really nice since one can be aimed more down for taxiing, the other straight ahead for approach and landing. This thread started asking about Duckworks offerings. I'd say stick with them or any other set up that allows plenty of aiming latitude, and that requirement puts it into the wing leading edge.

John Siebold