Skyrider

A very unusual Western novel: a young cowboy dreams of flight and thinks he'll learn in time to be ready to go to the front lines in his airship when the US enters WW1. But before that can happen, he needs a few things, the first of which is...an airship. When a cowboy he works with realizes that need can be capitalized on for his own gain, a plot is hatched and a snare laid for Johnny Jewel's unsuspecting feet. (Goodreads)