User:NiD.29/Layout (Aircraft)

These are unofficial guidelines for articles on specific aircraft types to achieve a standard look and feel to articles on closely-related subjects and these guidelines exist to facilitate achieving that goal for articles about aircraft.

For general guidelines about writing and editing Wikipedia articles, please see Category:Wikipedia style guidelines.

Name
Wikipedia articles each have a unique name, and most aircraft articles are named for their manufacturer, then by designation number if appropriate, then by the most common name, for example Consolidated B-24 Liberator, Nieuport 27, and Supermarine Spitfire. Articles should be named as generally as possible, so an article should only be named after a subtype (e.g. Messerschmitt Bf 109G) if writing about that specific version of the aircraft and the page for the main type not only already exists, but is also large enough to justify splitting off the sub-type.

Images
Images should add something to the article beyond mere decoration. Quality is more important than quantity and a link to the Commons or  (if multiple wikimedia pages exist for types included in page) is preferable to flooding an article with images or using a gallery. Where something specific is being shown (a variant, a modification, an operator or a detail) it should be positioned in the appropriate section. Always use the free images from Commons.

If possible, The Infobox lead image should show the aircraft in flight. If an in-flight image is not available then the infobox or lead photo should show a clear overall uncluttered view of the aircraft by itself, and not a detail close up. Less desirable images should only be used in the infobox if no other images are available.

The "thumb" option should be used for images outside infoboxes, and the size should not be specified as this causes problems on some displays. (per Manual of Style)

Captions should be concise, and not overwhelm the image with trivia, or anything not otherwise notable. Serial numbers, dates and locations are rarely pertinent.

Most images used in aircraft articles have been carefully selected to illustrate specific variants, features or provide a balance, so any changes should be made with this in mind. Multiple images of the same airframe, or aircraft used by the same operator should only be used when no other images are available.

A three-view drawing, if one is available, should be included in the specifications section. Aircraft performance graphs are not used, being by consensus too technical for a general encyclopedia.

Registrations, tail numbers or serial numbers
Unless the specific aircraft is notable, or a very small number were built, the only registrations, tail numbers or serial numbers included should be in the survivors section, where having survived makes them notable. For more on the inclusion of registrations/tail numbers/serials in aircraft articles refer to Registrations.

Subsections
If any section becomes to large, it can be split into a sub-article. Sub articles should use a related title, for example: Foo accidents and incidents or Foo variants where Foo is the parent article title and the suffix is the section title. It is advisable to create a Template:Main link from the parent article. Also note that if the content is a list it may be better to use something like List of Foo operators.

Links to the new page
It is a good idea to check links on pages that should link back to the new page as many of these may include broken (red) links that may needing correcting, and may appear in any relevant listings, starting with list of aircraft.

Any link in the new page could have a link back. Many aircraft engine pages list aircraft fitted with that engine, many operators list the aircraft they flew and most manufacturers list the aircraft they have built. There are also many stand alone lists an aircraft can appear in.

If this page has an entry in "Notable appearances in media", then there should be an entry with a link from Aircraft in fiction pointing back to the "Notable appearances in media" subsection located here.

While entirely optional, skipping this sometimes leads to duplicate pages being created, so it is a good idea to check the most common variations before starting a page as it might already exist, but not be adequately linked. Also, by ensuring there are links to the new page, it won't be an orphan.

Hidden tags for editors
The dialect of English used should match the nationality of the aircraft. If the aircraft is not from an English-speaking country, then the dialect used is the first editor's choice, and should not be altered. A hidden tag can be added indicating which dialect is used. These take the form of  or  or   For more, see WP:AVICONTENT.

Dates may also cause problems, and so choosing one format, and adding the appropriate hidden tag or  may be advisable. The date reflects when the tag was added and don't need updating.

Additionally the tags   and   may be added at the top of the page.

One final tag is seen frequently, is the. This overwrites potentially compromised data provided by wikidata for the subject, however the wikidata information should usually be updated, at least so that the pagename matches that of the wikipedia entry - and the commons entry.

The   tag, which hides the table of contents, is sometimes seen on older stubs, but it should be deleted whenever seen. In limited cases where the table of contents is excessively large, the depth may be limited with.

Article text should never be hidden, although it is not uncommon to provide hidden warnings on well referenced text that is subject to edit warring or vandalism.

Infoboxes
An infobox sums up relevant information in a standard, consistent and concise format. Infobox aircraft type provides manufacturer, first flight, service entry and retirement dates, number produced, and other quick facts Specifications are not included here on the English wiki but always have their own section in the page. flags are NOT used here by Project consensus. This infobox provides a field for the manufacturer, so aside for aircraft with numerical designations, it is not duplicated in the name field. Nationality should not be linked if the country is well known, and company names that are acronyms should only be all caps if each letter is spoken separately, rather than the whole read as a single word.

Introduction
Every article begins with a short introduction, naming the aircraft, along with any alternate names, its national origin, its manufacturer(s), and the general categories of aircraft it belongs to, the era or date of first flight, followed by a reason for its notability if there is one. For example: "The Cessna 172 Skyhawk is an American four-seat, single-engine, high-wing utility monoplane, fixed-wing aircraft made by the Cessna Aircraft Company. First flown in 1955, more Cessna 172s have been built than any other aircraft."

Without going any further, a reader will have a good idea of what kind of aircraft the article covers. Nationality should be linked only if the country is not well known.

The first sentence is to be in present tense if any complete aircraft exist. If only scraps exist, then use past tense. See MOS:TENSE for more guidance.

Alternate names
Per the Wikipedia style guide on secondary names in lead sections, if an aircraft has a different name in its country of origin than it does in English, as with many Japanese, Russian, French or German aircraft, then this name (in the appropriate alphabet) should follow the main title, with a translation into English. If the aircraft also has a code name, such as the NATO reporting names for Soviet aircraft or the Allied reporting names for Japanese aircraft, this should then follow the translated name in parentheses. Reporting names should be used only here, the variants section or in direct quotations from sources. For example: "The Ilyushin Il-10 (Cyrillic Илью́шин Ил-10, NATO reporting name: 'Beast' is a ... The Nakajima B6N Tenzan (Japanese: 中島 B6N 天山—'Heavenly Mountain', Allied reporting name: 'Jill') was..."

Body
The body of the article describes the aircraft in greater detail. This information is often best broken into sections, especially in longer articles. Frequently used sections in aircraft articles include the following: Design, Development, Operational history, Variants, Operators, Accidents and incidents, Aircraft on display/Surviving aircraft, Specifications, Notable appearances in media, See Also, References, Further reading, External links. Any section not required can be omitted, and aside from Specifications, most sections can be merged, renamed, or split into additional sections as required. Wikimedia commons links should be in the last section used, whichever that is.

Wherever possible, please link only the first instance in each section of each of the powerplants, weapons, nationality(/ies), roles (if possible), manufacturers, notable individuals, locations, events, other aircraft, and other suitable elements that help provide context - even if these result in redlinks, as these help indicate the need for a page or a redirect. For more information on creating links see: WP:LINKS.

Design
Describes the design, and major features of the aircraft including but not limited to structure, materials, aerodynamic features and variations. If noteworthy, describe markings that the aircraft flew in, if they were distinguishing or unusual however extensive descriptions of common colour schemes and markings should be avoided. May be combined with the next section as "Design and development" if both sections are small, or if the text works better when covered together.

Development
Describing the history behind the aircraft, often discussing why a manufacturer, airline, or air force felt there was a need for such an aircraft, as well as problems or changes it went through before and during its service.

Operational history
The history of the aircraft in use. This section is something like a "biography" of the aircraft. For commercial aircraft this can include notable flights, flights by notable people, and notable owners. For military aircraft, notable missions or flights should be mentioned.

Variants
Subtypes and variants of the aircraft. These can be further broken into subsections - see Douglas DC-3 for an example. Domestic and foreign military designations, related developments by the same company, notable modifications and production under other names should also be listed.

Operators
Lists of links to airlines and military air arms, as well as individual groups, squadrons or named/numbered units that used this type. May be separated into military and civilian sub-sections. Operators should not be split between current and former, as this creates maintenance problems, and should be indicated inline, along with the references. Do not place potential operators here, but only operators that have received aircraft. Potential orders or interest should be covered under "Development" or "Operational history". For civil aircraft with many operators or marginal notability, each using one or two aircraft, instead of listing them, a general statement can be made, as applicable to the role and operators of the individual aircraft type, with wording similar to: "The aircraft is popular with air charter companies and small feeder airlines, and is operated by private individuals and companies." Larger or more notable fleet operators could then be included normally.

Accidents and incidents
Generally, only notable incidents that resulted in regulation changes, a large number of fatalities or injuries, or someone notable dying should be included. For more information on which accidents and incidents to include in aircraft type article please see WP:AIRCRASH. The section header may be trimmed to just 'Accidents' or just 'Incidents' if applicable.

Aircraft on display/Surviving aircraft
Aircraft on display should provide information on aircraft that are on public display. It should not include components, partial aircraft, or unrecovered wrecks. If many examples are preserved, the list should be limited to the most prominent or notable ones, or be split off to its own page.

Aircraft specifications
This is a summary of the aircraft's capacities, dimensions, weights, power plant, characteristics and performance. Please use the Aircraft specs template when adding specifications. An article lacking specifications can be tagged with  . WikiProject Aircraft has previously used formats and templates that are now deprecated so articles with older layouts may need to be updated to the current, much improved template, which automatically converts units to show both metric and imperial, reducing errors and typing.

The specifications should be for a single specific variant, and be labelled accordingly. Usually this will be the most famous/noteworthy/numerous variant. Any differences for other variants should be described in the variants or development sections. Multiple sets of specifications are to be avoided. Lines that are not applicable can be omitted, such as "|powerplant=" for sailplanes. On the other hand, if data is just not available, leave the line in to encourage others to fill it in.

Table is as follows:

Mach number
Mach numbers should never be calculated by editors from maximum speeds, as this introduces errors and is original research. Instead, they should be sourced from reliable data, along with applicable conditions. If no Mach number is stated, please leave it blank.

Units
See WikiProject Aircraft/Units for unit conventions specific to the aircraft project, and for general Wikipedia conventions, see Manual of Style (dates and numbers). The convert and cvt templates convert numbers automatically, thus avoiding WP:OR, and the hassle of calculating the conversions, and preserves the source information which is preferable. (cvt) uses abbreviations, but is otherwise identical.

Aircraft unit and operating costs
If available, please use the flyaway cost for military aircraft or retail price for commercial aircraft since these are the most commonly available costs and provide an “apples to apples” comparison. A helpful essay on understanding how aircraft costs are reported, what they mean, and whether they should be used is to be found at User:Askari Mark/Understanding aircraft unit costs.

Please do not include operating costs. Wikipedia is global and operating costs vary greatly between localities, and when fuel costs fluctuate, so do operating costs, impairing verifiability.

Notable appearances in media
"Popular culture" sections are to be avoided, per Avoid trivia sections in articles. Please feel free to add real world aircraft (but not fictional aircraft), that played a significant role beyond simply being seen in books, films, video games or as toys, provided reliable third party references can also be supplied to show the notability of the appearance. The book, game or movie is itself not sufficient for inclusion. Appearances in non-fiction, such as documentaries, may be included, but to avoid cluttering up aircraft type articles with lists of fictional appearances these have been moved to Aircraft in fiction instead.

Appearances in games are non-notable except for those dedicated to the specific aircraft. Fictional aircraft that only roughly resemble real-world aircraft should not be mentioned in aircraft type articles and instead should be listed in List of fictional aircraft. Fictional characters who assume the form of an aircraft should be limited to a one sentence summary and only for primary aircraft, and not for one-time configurations. Template:NoMoreCruft may be added to discourage crufters and inexperienced Wikipedians from adding non-notable pop culture triva.

Requirement
More than any other area, editors have problems when it comes to references and it is also by far the most important part of the page. Aside from items that can be considered common knowledge (such as nationality, primary role, general configuration and nickname), almost all statements need a supporting reference, or several if they are controversial or contradict common knowledge. Unsourced or inadequately sourced material may be challenged or removed by other editors and the onus in on the person adding the material to provide references.

No original research
Wikipedia follows standard academic practice with one exception, and that is original primary sources are never used, nor can anything that constitutes original research be included. Every claim that is made must be in a reliable published source. Company memos, personal correspondence, anecdotes and the like can only be included if they were already published.

Source quality
Not all sources are equal. Peer-reviewed journals (not to be confused with magazines) are ideal, however these are are often focused on technical details with limited relevance to a general audience, but they do occasionally provide interesting insights. Next best are recently published books explicitly focused on the subject, published by reputable authors from reputable publishers which provided editorial oversight.

Older sources are generally less reliable than newer ones, with refuted or outdated information being common. Propaganda from both World Wars and fiction excerpts remain a part of common knowledge, and have been repeated by less diligent authors and it remains an issue with mass market publications (such as the Squadron Signal and Time-Life books), and with many popular mass-market magazines.

The only role encyclopedias have is in finding subjects to be covered. Sources that use Wikipedia as a reference are to be avoided, to prevent citogenesis and Wikipedia itself can never be used as a source on any wiki page, but the references listed on pages for similar types are often a good place to start.

Blogs, discussion boards, youtube and self-published works are discouraged with rare and very specific exceptions. Most web pages lack editorial oversight and contain factual errors, and as with blogs and discussion boards, anyone can write anything they feel like, true or not. The best websites are authored by recognized, published experts in aviation, but most are only useful for finding better published sources.

General media sources (TV, newspapers, magazines) are only moderately reliable when it comes to events and people, but are rarely reliable for technical details.

The Internet Archive has many digitized books online, and now offers a digital lending service, with many books as well as magazines that can be useful as references.

Aircraft type clubs
By consensus, aircraft type clubs should only be added if they have their own Wikipedia articles or have third party references showing a notable contribution to the aircraft or manufacturer's history. Type club websites, other than forum entries, are usually reliable (aside from cost information) and can be used as references but to limit spam, type clubs should not be listed in external links. Either they are suitable as references or are not mentioned.

Languages
While English language sources are preferred on the English wiki, this should not be used to exclude reliable sources. The reference citation should note the language if it was not English.

Copyright
Please do not plagiarize existing sources, and the material used should be sourced from as many references as possible to prevent the Wikipedia article from being simply a rewrite of a single source.

The references section is normally broken down further, into:

Citations or footnotes
Like the Bibliography, these should follow a consistent style. These can either take the form of the entire reference, or the short form, as required. Most common is to use the Author's last name, the year of publication and the page number. Several templates are available, the most common being. needs to be included for the references to appear. It is common to name citations, especially when multiple instances are used as it merges them, but the first instance should not be invoked in an infobox, as they are subject to changes by bots that can result in broken references.

Reference Formatting
A variety of reference formatting are allowed, so long as one consistent format in used on the page. Editors should not arbitrarily change the format unless a consensus has been reached. See here for templates and examples. To integrate your references into the article, please use the reference tags. Examples of citations:
 * Book


 * Newspaper/Magazine


 * Journal


 * Website

Templates help format references but are not mandatory..

Navboxes
Usually, we try to include some navboxes to tie together aircraft by the same manufacturer or those designated under the same sequence. Lists of existing navboxes can be found at Manufacturer-based aircraft navigational boxes and Designation-based aircraft navigational boxes.

Categories
Aircraft are categorised by their nationality, configuration, primary role, and era, for example Category:1950s British airliners. A number of secondary categories also exist that link together aircraft with certain noteworthy features, such as Category:Variable-geometry-wing aircraft. See WikiProject Aircraft/Categories for a description of the Category system.

When finished
When you're done, please consider adding a link to the page in the appropriate section at New articles (Aircraft), so everyone knows about your new page.

Creating a new aircraft page
Enter the aircraft article you wish to create and all the elements of the layout will be automatically created:

Finally, you are in no way obliged to follow all, or even any, of these guidelines, although providing references is highly recommended.