Have you ever noticed small lights on the wings of airplanes during your travels? You’ll often see them glowing green or red in the night sky. They may seem like minor details, but they play a vital role in aviation safety and efficiency.

Navigation and Orientation

The lights on the wing tips are called navigation lights, and they have been a part of aviation since the early days of flight. Although they also have different purposes, the most important reason is visibility – they are to make the aircraft more visible at night!

When ships were the main means of travel, operators noticed that collisions were occurring much more frequently. To correct this, he added green, red and white lights at specific locations to make the ships more visible. Later, when airplanes were invented and improved, the same idea was used and similar lights were added to them.

These lights are color-coded– Red on the left wing, green on the right wing, and often a white light on the tail. Why color? This is to help pilots determine the direction of other aircraft in the sky.

If you are flying at night and see a red light on your left and a green light on your right, you are seeing a plane moving in the same direction as you. Do you see a green light on your left and a red light on your right? This means that the plane is coming towards you.

Aircraft navigation lights also double as anti-collision aids. When you’re in the vast, dark sky, it can be challenging to see another aircraft. Lights on the wingtips make airplanes visible to each other, reducing the chance of accidents in the air. Many aircraft also have strobe or flashing lights on the tips of their wings. These intense, bright flashes make aircraft stand out even more, especially during takeoff, landing, or when flying in cloudy or low visibility conditions.

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The lights on the wing tips also help on the ground. At busy airports, where dozens of planes are flying at any given time, these lights guide ground crew and pilots.

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