The Real Men in the Great Airship Wave

The Wunderkabinett and Michael Busby have done some research on the names of reported airship pilots during the 1897 Airship Wave (adopted by some as an early UFO wave). To my surprise, some of these men existed, in fact quite a few did. Doesn't mean they were actually involved in any aero-experiments, and some of the most famous airship cases (including Aurora) have been shown as hoaxes. This is all being dredged up in part due to the Stephensville UFO flap.

I'm starting to see the appeal airships have on the Steampunk community. Or perhaps I'm seeing the results of that interest. Anyway, nifty stuff.