  New observations of the eclipsing nova V1494 Aql were analysed in order to
estimate the effect of the optical companion located 1.4 arcsec southwest. R
and I-band images (stellar FWHM~1.2-1.4 arcsec) taken close to the primary
minimum were used to determine relative magnitude differences between the nova
and the companion, which were found to be Delta R~0.20 mag and Delta I~0.52 mag
(in the sense nova minus companion). After correcting R-band time-series
observations for the secondary light, the eclipse depth has been found to be
almost twice as deep. Before modelling any late eclipsing light curve that is
available in the literature, the data must be corrected for the light of the
companion.
