Answer:
Answer
The technology of aircraft design made great changes during WW1. When the war began, many aircraft were designed similar to the Wright Brothers (even though the Wright Bros fought to keep their design a secret by use of patents, the foreign aircraft designers used their designs and improved on them.) Some of the features of the early design included:
A- Elevator controls in front of the wings
B- Pusher engines mounted in rear of the pilot
C- Warped wing flight controls
D- Heavy engines that produced very little horsepower, usually 2 or 4 cycliners
E- Guns were mounted in rear and operated by separate gunner/observer
As the war progressed, aircraft design improved the performance and maneuverabilty of the aircraft. Even though the Rotary Engines became a popular design that produced good thrust-to-weight, it eventually became out-dated. The Rotary Engine would turn with the propellor on a fixed shaft. (A Radial Engine is a fixed engine with its cyclinders mounted around the propellor shaft---it doesn't rotate.) With the improvement of engine technology, the typical engine became the water-cooled, straight-line,multi-cylinder engine. New engines included 12-cylinder engines or V-8 engines that were much lighter and produced more horsepower.
The elevator controls moved to the rear and the engines moved to the front. Eventually the armament was mounted on the fuselage so the pilot would fly the aircraft at his intended target. The common flight controls were hinged control surfaces.
All of these changes became the norm for the post-war aircraft.
Custermen