Gustav Whitehead the inventor of the lightweight Diesel Engine?!
This German inventor claimed his No. 22 plane, that allegedly flew on Jan. 17, 1902, was powered by a 40 HP, 120 pounds, kerosene engine with
ignition by compression (a lightweight reliable diesel engine, an impossibility for 1902, even for 1922!).
"It is run by a 40 horse-power kerosene motor of my own design, especially constructed for strength, power and lightness, weighing but 120 pounds complete. It will run for a week at a time if required, without running hot, stopping, or in any possible manner troubling the operator. No electrical apparatus is required for ignition purposes. Ignition is accomplished by its own heat and compression; it runs about 800 revolutions per minute, has five cylinders and no fly-wheel is used. It requires a space 10 inches wide, 4 feet long and 10 inches high."
(Source: "The Whitehead Flying Machine", American Inventor Magazine, 1 April 1902",
http://wright-brothers.wikidot.com/#Gustav-Whitehead ).
All known diesel engines existent in 1902 were heavy stationary machines. The first powered diesel ship appeared in 1903 and the first diesel road vehicle, a tractor, in 1922 (see,
Diesel engine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia).
A 1902 reliable, ignition by compression engine, working with kerosene, weighting just 120 pounds and delivering 40 HP is simply anachronistic, a thing that, in reality, appeared decades latter.