UFO RESEARCH NEWSLETTER

Magazine Overview

This issue of the UFO Research Newsletter, Volume VI, Number 2, published monthly or bi-monthly by UFO Research Associates (UFOR), covers the period of September-October 1978. The newsletter provides a report on unidentified flying objects, focusing on sightings from January to June 1978. It details various characteristics of these sightings, including the presence of occupants, possible abductions, radar tracking, electromagnetic and physiological effects, illuminated objects, and physical evidence.

Key Ingredients in Sighting Reports

The lead article highlights the diverse nature of UFO reports received during the first half of 1978. These include a wide range of phenomena such as:

• Occupants and Abductions: Reports involving beings inside or interacting with UFOs, and instances suggesting possible abductions.
• Radar Tracking: UFOs being detected and tracked by radar systems, often by military personnel.
• Electromagnetic (E-M) and Physiological Effects: Objects causing disruptions to electronic equipment (like car radios and televisions) and affecting witnesses physically (e.g., temporary disorientation, strange sensations, or physical ailments).
• Illuminated Objects: UFOs that lit up witnesses, homes, automobiles, driveways, roads, and clouds.
• Craft Maneuvers: Descriptions of unusual flight characteristics such as swooping down on cars, playing 'tag' with airplanes, executing 'hairpin turns' at high speed, hovering over water and sucking it up, and pacing automobiles.
• Physical Interactions: Witnesses hitting UFOs with rocks, objects landing and taking off, causing animal reactions, leaving behind physical evidence, emitting sounds and odors, and being photographed or filmed.
• Size and Appearance: Objects described as being very large (up to the size of three 747 jets), illuminated, and exhibiting various shapes (round, oval, square, egg-shaped, boomerang, saucer-shaped) with multiple colored lights.

Witnesses included pilots, crew members, passengers of aircraft, radar operators, and military personnel from at least a dozen states and four foreign countries.

Specific Sightings and Cases

The newsletter presents numerous detailed accounts from various locations:

• Connecticut: In Montville, 10-year-old Melissa Johnson and her mother observed a round UFO with lights hovering outside their window, causing the home's electrical lights to go out and their dog to react fearfully. A week later, in Enfield, six children and a woman reported a large UFO with red, white, and yellow lights hovering near a power line, extending metal legs.
• Pennsylvania: Near Strinestown, Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Smith encountered a large, round object with red lights and a pulsating sound that tilted towards their car and beamed a bright light.
• New Jersey: In Vineland, Cheryl DeSantis witnessed a red and white blinking light above trees, followed by a red ball that passed close to rooftops.
• West Virginia: In Irona, 12-year-old Larry Costilow experienced E-M interference to his TV and saw a dark object below the cloud ceiling. Near Winco Block, Bryan Duty and John Wright saw a gold and silver craft with flashing lights that hovered and emitted paralyzing light beams.
• North Carolina: Near Boone, two truck drivers reported a UFO with a round bottom, extended sides, and a steeple-like top landing on the roadway. In Fayetteville, Steve Molnar photographed a five-sided object with red lights that stopped and then flew away.
• Florida: In Sanford, Vicki Bryant and Melody Kennedy observed an oblong object with white lights and a large blinking light hovering over a cemetery. In Ocala, residents reported seeing colored lights flashing in the night sky near the U.S. Navy Pinecastle Electronic Warfare Range.
• Illinois: Steve Story in Winnetka observed a large UFO with square windows and multiple lights.
• Michigan: Mike Sixbey filmed a UFO over Island Lake. Tom Beauchamp and others described a boomerang-shaped object, possibly the size of three 747 jets, over Island Lake. In Sterling Heights, Mrs. Judi Sist and her daughter Karen saw two UFOs, one cigar-shaped and another much larger and glowing white.
• Ohio: An unidentified woman in Kenton County reported an egg-shaped UFO that paced her car, exhibiting orangish-yellow, purple, and blue-green colors.
• Canada: Paul Wagner and Peter Fairweather observed a UFO hovering over Lake Ontario near Bronte, appearing to suck up water.
• Brazil: At Congonhas Airport in Sao Paulo, a circular craft reportedly touched down on a runway, causing radar disruptions. Thousands reportedly saw a UFO squadron over Rio de Janeiro, tracked by radar and emitting luminous signals.
• Spain: The radar system at the joint Spanish-American tracking station on Majorca reportedly tracked numerous UFOs flying at supersonic speed, causing E-M interference.
• England: Paul Lewis in Sharow observed a small, circular object that turned reddish-yellow and caused his car to glow.
• United Kingdom: Gary Colegate filmed a bright, semi-circular light moving swiftly over Newcastle.

United Nations Involvement

United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim urged the formation of an ad hoc UFO committee to study the phenomenon and make recommendations. This initiative was supported by figures like Grenada Prime Minister Sir Eric Gairy and involved prominent researchers such as Dr. J. Allen Hynek and Dr. Jacques Vallee. Hynek stated that the UFO phenomenon is real and has sociological and political significance, advocating for international monitoring systems.

Cutty Sark Offer

The newsletter also includes a brief note about the Cutty Sark scotch whiskey firm offering $1.8 million to anyone who can produce evidence that people from other planets can travel to Earth.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes in this issue are the diverse nature of UFO sightings, the increasing reports of electromagnetic and physiological effects, and the growing international interest in the phenomenon, including potential government and UN involvement. The editorial stance appears to be one of serious reporting and documentation of UFO events, presenting witness accounts and expert opinions without overt skepticism, as evidenced by the inclusion of the UN Secretary-General's statement and the detailed case studies. The newsletter encourages readers to submit their own sighting reports and clippings.