M.Dusing German Aviation Industry in WWI. Volume 1 (A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes 84)

AGO-Flugzeugwerke GmbH and Otto Flugzeugwerke
  
<...>
  As late as 1910, Otto had his own aircraft designed by Gabriel Letsch on the basis of the French prototypes. These first airplanes already had to meet important criteria that were expected of military airplanes, such as quick disassembly, fast assembly and good loading characteristics. The flight characteristics were relatively uncomplicated, so that these grid fuselage biplanes were gladly used in flight schools. The crew consisted of a passenger and the pilot, who sat directly in front of the engine. This was also an unfavorable aspect of the design: Since the Otto fuselage biplane was not yet equipped with a so-called shock landing gear, it could happen that the nose of the aircraft made contact with the ground in the event of an ungentle landing. In such a case, there was a risk that the pilot and passenger would be killed by the engine. However, there were large skids between the pairs of wheels of the landing gear, which were able to dampen forward pitching movements.
<...>