The Wright Brothers were NOT the first to fly a plane - A German pilot beat them to it two years earlier in a flying car, claims leading aviation journal

The Wright Brothers are famous for flying the world's first successful airplane in 1903 - yet they may have been beaten to the record two years earlier, according to a prestigious aviation journal.

Jane's All The World's Aircraft claims in its 100th anniversary edition that German aviation pioneer Gustav Weisskopf was actually the first man to successfully build and fly his 'Condor' plane in August 1901.

And according to reports, Weisskopf - who emigrated to America and changed his name to Whitehead - may have also been the first person to invent the flying car.