How to add taxi/landing lights

28 year RV6A no lights. I would like, due to cost, keep the Whelen nav/pos/strobes on tips. Performed some searches and am not finding much of anything on best way to add 28 years later. A point to posts here is sufficient should you know of them, or straight up ? how too? works as well.

Go to Duckworks for the lights.

You can get the "lampless" kit and cut them to fit whatever lights you choose.

Use the Advance Search option to look up comments on LED lights, which is the current fad.

I just installed a Duckworks kit in an RV-6A yesterday. The previous wingtips (which got damaged) had landing lights, but the replacement wingtips do not have the recess area for this older style of landing light and Van's no longer sells the parts. The solution was to add the leading edge lights. We got the Blank kit, and bought the Baja Designs Squadron LED lamps.

The installation was pretty straight forward. Use the supplied templates to locate where to cut into the leading edge. Trim/sand the new hole to shape. Install some nutplates on the ribs to hold the new bracket for the landing light. The bracket gets cut to the correct length and riveted back together. The fitting of the lense involves some trimming/sanding/drilling/countersinking. There are some little supports that get nutplates added, then these get stuck to the lense with double sided tape. Connection of the two wires (power and local ground) are the last step. We had plenty of room to do all of this on the wing.

Thanks

Excellent info a Bill. Thanks. Bruce...music to my ears , pretty straightforward. I was hoping installation instructions were on the site, but not. Your info gave me the insight needed for this non builder to move forward.

Butch,

Landing lights were an option (I'm not sure about on the -10 and 14) on the earlier kits. That's why your -6 doesn't have any.

Cutting the leading edge is not a big deal, just protect your paint with painter tape covered by Gorilla Tape.

There are many ways to cut the holes, once they are properly located and traced on the wing. After drilling a round hole with a step drill, I used a pneumatic body saw to cut the opening to rough size, and then filed to the final line. That worked out really well.

You will need a rivet squeezer and dimple dies to dimple the holes to hold the cover in place.

You can use pull rivets inside the wings to old the plate nuts in place, not a big deal, other than access is very limited.

Good luck!