Originally Posted by
Fl1ingfrog
The design of an Aircraft's navigation (position) lights are with this in mind. You cannot simply look along the nose (avoiding parallax) because the heading is not the track made good: e.g. off setting for drift by +/- 15 degrees is not unusual. The RED-GREEN-WHITE arrangement of lights should be understood. However, other than strobes navigation lights will not be easy to see during daylight. The basic rule is: 'a constant bearing indicates a a collision course and therefore should be treated so.
Correct and of course there is no obligation to display navigation lights by day. Regarding the constant bearing rule, everyone should know that - every pilot flying solo will have already passed the Air Law exam. The question of last minute collision avoidance shouldn't occur if everyone looked out properly. Unfortunately, there's no getting away from the fact that some pilots operating in Class G have relatively poor lookout, relatively low situational awareness and still for some, a reluctance to use the aircraft's transponder to help others become aware of them in good time.