Tannenberg

[Barrett]

The relative records of German/Russian aviation at Tannenberg is a bit more complex than it appears. The numbers of aircraft and airships available were very close but the Germans had superior organization and a higher in-commission rate, ergo more sorties.
At least two accounts make mention of some lost opportunities for the Germans, tho. At some staff level the initial aerial reports were discounted and/or lost in the shuffle, but by & by things got sorted out. In today's terms we'd say that the Germans got inside the Rooshins' decision loop and acted faster on developing situations owing to superior intel.

[Volker_Nemsch]

There was another (but only little) advantage on the German side during the Tannenberg battle.

Surely at least some of the pilots had flown over this area before the war. So they knew about the distances between villages and cities, knew where to look for large enemy formations (arround bridges, road crossings, railway stations, etc.). They knew by former experiences that this special church tower belonged to the city "X". Additionally they had the support of the civilians there and in the case of a landing due to engine problems the people would have helped them and told them what they had seen in their area.

Maybe there were photos made of some special points to instruct new pilots or pilot trainees before the war, but that is just a guess.