Proposal:
Create a /Docs subdirectory for each aircraft containing detailed documentation specific to each aircraft.
AND/OR
Create help menu item(s) pointing to (1)the /Docs subdirectory and (2)each aircrafts' respective wiki page at wiki.flightgear.org
REASONING:
(Good luck understanding this. )
wiki.flightgear.org has a very impressive number of articles. But I can't find information quickly while running FlightGear. Such As: maximum takeoff & landings weights, speeds, cruising altitude, etc.
In my case, I didn't know that information was even on FlightGears' website to begin with. I still 'stumble' across information, discovering new documents. BTW, this is my prime reason for this proposal.
The 'Fuel and Payload' menu item doesn't currently perform checks to insure safe aircraft operation with what the 'pilot' selects. (Maybe some aircraft do this? Maybe eventually all will do so.)
Other information (speeds, altitudes) are not listed unless the developer places that information into the 'Aircraft help' menu item. Doing so would increase the size of the *-set.xml files. Unless a separate file is used that is included by a reference within the *-set.xml file (Is this even possible?).
'Documentation Browser' - brings up a list of README documents that cover FlightGear as a whole.
'Help' - does the same. But with file types other than the READMEs.
I ASSUME that these two commands will one day be combined into a single menu item ? Maybe not.
'Aircraft help' - brings up condensed key commands, procedures, HOWTOs, etc specific to each aircraft. Leave this alone. I like being able to QUICKLY find out what key to press that will apply thrust reversers if I forget how while landing. Displayed data can't be images, HTML formatted, etc (That I know of). Data is displayed in FlightGear itself.
Decided against placing these menu items under the aircraft specific menu. Aircraft help needs to stay under the help menu. This calls for the menu change to be made at the 'application' level. Similar to the 'Aircraft help (?)' menu item. Not to each aircraft. This method should/might also lessen the work load on each aircraft developer figuring out how to modify the menu more than they already do.
Add option to the help menu using the 'open-browser' command that points to the wiki pages for each aircraft.
Another link that points to help in each aircraft's /Docs directory. Wiki page could be lost or corrupted. Convenient access to information without requiring internet access. And not as easily corruptible.
How to transfer data from the wiki to the aircrafts' git repository ? Menu item and wiki. Duplication of information. Double the work to keep them the same. Same as now. (Unless the wiki and the git repositories can be linked?) Read in forums that developers don't like the wiki being so open to editing by many people. Make data transfer from wiki to git a manual operation by each aircrafts developer. This necessitates another link to the wiki for current information.
Including help for each aircraft will significantly increase the size of the 'standard' FlightGear package. Possible solution: Reduce the number of aircraft included in the 'standard' FlightGear package. Maybe have only the Cessna 172. Vote for the top 5 aircraft to include? Use website to download any other desired aircraft as now happens. Or have the help files as a separate package. And use an over-writable, by the docs package, /Doc directory that refers to online docs or the docs package.
References:
http://wiki.flightgear.org/Howto:Make_an_aircraft - determined that there isn't a /Docs sub-directory for each aircraft.
Other docs used to puzzle out how FlightGear works and if what I'm proposing is even doable.
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Unless you are congressmen and I'm applying for a large government grant, I've edited this enough. I think that I've made this understandable and made my point.