I would suggest searching google or other search engines, I know you will probably find everything you could ever want to know about WWI on the web.

my history project was on this in year 10. spent 4 weeks on it, 6000 words, marked by a student teacher got a D. the dumb ass didnt know what a plane was let alone what the entire air war was about. luckaly my history teacher himself double  checked it and i got a B.
i'll gladly help where i can.

The "dogfight" originated in WWI.  At first airplanes were only used for observation. They were not very maneuverable, they didn't have to be. Eventually, situations arose, where two observation aircraft from opposing sides would confront each other. Pilots began carrying pistols, so that they could try and shoot the enemy pilots in these situations. Then some guy got the bright idea to mount a more powerful gun than a pistol on an airplane. Imagine trying to shoot another pilot  in a moving airplane, FROM a moving airplane, with just a pistol! Because the guns were bigger, they needed to be mounted to the airplane, as opposed to being carried by the pilot(like a pistol). This meant the pilot had to point the airplane at his opponent to shoot him. You can guess what happened next...........pilots now wanted more maneuverable airplanes, not the slow observation planes that they were using. From this, aerial duels, or "dogfights" came into being! 

One of the important "Landmarks" if WW1 aerial warfare was the invention of the interupting gear that allowed machine guns to fire through the propellor thus allowing them to be precisely alligned with the aircraft.

Further to what OTTOL has said initially the pilots were considered to be little more than chauffers for the observation officers. I'm not 100% sure of when the change took place but by the end of the war the roles had reversed.

I did a search on Google on Royal Flying Corps and found this interview of a pilot who joined a squadron in 1918 aged 19 years.

http://www.patrickwilson.com/RFC.html

I feel it gives a bit of a human perspective on the subject.

Will

No problems mate.  I'm glad it was some use.

Will

Personally, I think you'd be better off focusing your thesis on one specific area of World War I aviation.  So much was going on at that point.

I mean, aviation itself was less than 20 years old, you had zeppelins, balloons, airplanes...

Then you had dogfighting, parachutes, the Red Baron...

I'd have my topic be something like the role of aviation in early conflict, the evolution of early flight, or something like that...

But I'm a history freak, so I'm a bit odd to begin with.  lol

Don't forget to come back and let us know how it went!


Good luck!

I've always said I'm a cynic...Felix proves me right.  lol  I had that same thought, which is why I didn't lend anything too specific, rather I just guided him down the path.

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My intent, just for the record, was to inspire him with a quick story, not supply directly transferable info. I think lines like "Then some guy got the bright idea to mount a more powerful gun than a pistol on an airplane", should illustrate that. I sure hope he doesn't paraphrase that!
In my mind, I see this as a younger member coming to a group of us standing around, and saying " I'm doing this paper.........."   The first two responses were" go to the Library and look under "W" for world war 1, or "A" for airplane!" I think if he has any wherewithal, then he already knows how to use search engines and access the local library. I think maybe, he was looking for some of the guys to tell him some stories.
I used to the same technique with my students, you grasp their interest with a story that relates to the subject THEN you get out the technical manual.
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Somehow, I think you're in like company around here. 8)

Only ONE little crap at once! I WAS a CFI(part of the career aviation initiation ritual!) Basic learning theory is taught to ALL CFI's. It's a real "canned" program(typical FAA), but there are some good aspects you can use, if you know how to trim the fat. I would start off every lesson with a story, it helps get the student motivated. As opposed to reading verbatim, from the textbook(my point!)

Pat

People can get a little strange around here at times mate.  Don't worry about it.

The major problem with large project such as WW1 is that the subject area is vast and the available information is spread over an equally huge area.

My advice with any essay is to reference it and add a bibliography at the back.  I assume that if you are still at school they don't require you to reference your work just yet but if you stay on in higher education they will.
If you add your references they cannot get you for plagarism.

Will

Word on the street is that Fozzer also has some great drawings in his sketchbook from his battles against the colonists during the American Revolution.

I didn't say he won.  lol

Someone needs to read their history books once more.  Even Americans call the original 13 states "colonies" so therefore, by definition, the residents are "colonists".

See, that's the problem with the English.  They think they can just close a discussion.  That's how this war began in the first place!  lol

Oh go eat a crumpet.  lol

Hey, what are crumpets anyway?

(And for the record, I didn't even know you were English until about a week ago.  I thought you were Canadian.  lol)

Both sound heavenly.  lol

lol....Fozzer's in my list of all time favorite humans on the planet, and I'm sure by now he knows it.

Any comments I direct towards him, regardless of how lame they may be, are with the utmost respect and gratitude. 

To be quite honest, I seem to remember hearing something in church about him being the first bird that was created.