There is documentation on how to stage the DVDs.

On Linux, I have never been able to install from an USB external drive due to noexec default udev directives. Maybe you will have better luck on your
distribution.

http://download-west.oracle.com/docs/cd/B34956_01/current/acrobat/120oaig.pdf

Creating the Stage Area Directory

To create the stage area directory, run the adautostg.pl script. If the script cannot
create the directories, or if there are other system parameters that require modification,
it prompts you to amend the parameters. You must fix any problems before you
continue with the setup process.
Follow these steps to set up a stage area installation:
1. Log in as the operating system user with sufficient privileges to mount, unmount,
and eject the DVD. This user must also have write privileges to the stage area that
you set up.
2. Insert the Start Here disk in the DVD-ROM drive.
3. Mount the DVD (conditional).
If your system runs on a UNIX platform, and if you do not use AutoMount, you
must mount the Start Here disk now.
4. Verify software version (perl).
You must have perl 5.0053 or higher installed, and it must be in your PATH. Use
the following commands to identify the perl version and its location. The command
is the same for both UNIX and Windows platforms:
perl -v
If perl is not installed, you may download it from http://www.perl.com.
Important: For Windows users, the perl shipped by MKS is not
certified: instead, use ActivePerl, which you can also download
from www.perl.com.
5. On UNIX, set the environment variable DISPLAY to an active and authorized
display.
6. Run the adautostg.pl script.
UNIX:
$ cd
$ perl /mnt/cdrom/Disk1/rapidwiz/adautostg.pl
Windows:
C:\> perl d:\mnt\cdrom\Disk1\rapidwiz\adautostg.pl
The stage script message informs you that you may either stage all the Rapid Install
components, or selected components only.
7. Set up the stage area directory.

At the prompt for the stage directory, enter the name of the system top-level
directory. The Rapid wizard stage12 directory will be created in this path. For
example, if you enter /u01 as the top-level directory, the resulting directory path
will be /u01/stage12.
8. Indicate the components to be staged.
The script prompts you to choose the components that you want to stage:
1. Oracle Applications
2. Oracle Database technology stack (RDBMS)
3. Oracle Applications database (Databases)
4. Oracle Applications technology stack (Tools)
5. APPL_TOP
Enter one or more components, separating each one with a space. You can indicate
that you want to stage only the database technology stack, only the APPL_TOP, and
so on.
If you choose 1 (the default), all the main components will be staged.
9. Insert the Rapid Install DVD.
Insert the relevant DVD, as required in the prompt. The system message lists the
files it has copied and their location in the stage area directory.