Wikipedia:WikiProject Aviation/Style guide/Layout

This is an essay on style. It contains the advice or opinions of one or more WikiProjects on how to format and present article content within their area of interest.

This information is not a formal Wikipedia policy or guideline, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community.

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WP:AVILAYOUT

Article layouts

The following suggested layouts are intended to help structure a new article or when an existing article requires a substantial rewrite. Changing an established article simply to fit these guidelines should be discussed to gain consensus. The given order of sections is also encouraged but may be varied, particularly if that helps an article progressively develop concepts and avoid repetition. Suggested sections not applicable to the subject should not be included. Articles in a series should use a consistent layout. An "External links" section should be avoided, when possible, by using wikilinks and references in the body of the article.

Aircraft

The opening paragraph (or lead section) should concisely convey:

The name of the aircraft
Its manufacturer(s)
The general category of aircraft it belongs to.

Without going any further, a reader should already have a good basic idea of what kind of aircraft the article is describing.

The article can be structured along these lines:

The development and history behind the aircraft, often discussing why a manufacturer, airline, or air force felt there was a need for such an aircraft.
The design and major features of the aircraft. This can be combined with above section as "Design and development" if both sections are small, or if the text works better it they are covered together.
The Operational history, describing the history of the aircraft in use. This section is something like a "biography" of the aircraft.
Major variants and subtypes of the aircraft. These can be arranged in subsections - see Messerschmitt Me 163 for an example of how this can be done.
The operators, usually a collection of links to airlines or individual air force squadrons that used this type. May be separated into Military and Civilian sections if applicable and workable.
A list of surviving aircraft; examples exhibited in museums. If a large number of aircraft are still preserved, the list should be limited to the most prominent ones.
Specifications :

Airlines

The opening paragraph (or lead section) should concisely convey:

The airline's name, owner of the airline and some general comments about the airline
The IATA and ICAO codes
The operational status (cargo/charter/defunct)
The country of origin

Without going any further, a reader should already have a good basic idea of what kind of airline the article is describing.

The article can be structured along these lines:

The development and history behind the airline- Care should be taken in the structure so that different versions of the airline are clearly marked.
A destinations list: following the world based format show in articles like Airline destinations. Once an airline has more than 10 destinations, especially international ones, they could be listed in a stand alone article
A list of aircraft flown by the airline and the quantity of each
Information about frequent flyer programs and membership clubs.
Major incidents and accidents over the airline's history.

Destination list

When listing airlines and their destinations in airport articles, use {{Airport-dest-list}}.

A master list of destinations can be found at Wikipedia:WikiProject Aviation/Airline destination lists.

Fleet

Accidents and incidents section

Within this section, using {{Timeline-event}} ((as in this article) will emit metadata, making it possible, for example, to represent a timeline visually

Airports

Please see Wikipedia:WikiProject Aviation/Style guide/Layout (Airports) for the most up-to-date formats for airport articles.

Accidents