A Brazilian UFO Case - Video

[Patricio Elicer]

First of all, I want to credit the Chilean Ufological organization AION (http://www.aion.cl) (Agrupación de Investigaciones Ovniológicas de Chile) for kindly making public the video of this case.

This UFO sighting took place in a Sao Paulo neigborhood called Capao Redondo, so it was properly named the "Capao Redondo Case".

It was investigated by two prominent Brazilian ufologists who after some reasearch came to the conclusion that it was a "real UFO" as, according to them, all mundane possibilities were firmy ruled out. One of them went as far as to say that it was a "manifestation of alien technology".

Here's the report they posted on the internet, it's in Portuguese (Luciana, where are you?!):

http://www.infa.com.br/sonda_de_capao_redondo.html

An this is the video (purportedy filmed by a 10-year old boy on Jan 2nd, 1998)

http://www.mediamax.com/pelicer/Hosted/capaoredondo2.wmv

I'd like to know your take on this case, all you eagle-eyed and magic brains :). I've extensively discussed it on AION forum, and in a certain way, the case may be quite puzzling. I have suspicions that it is a fake, however.

[Correa Neto]

I have seen that video before, on TV, ages ago. I would not rule out a kite, specially because the chances of defining the object's trajectory with accuracy are not high. So, the poles and electrical wires may not have been an obstacle. Besides, the investigators (credited as engineers) show some ignorance on kites (have these peopel ever been children?). They are not "oriented by the winds" as they claim, and they can indeed make the maneauvers registered and come close to the ground. Children (and adults, LOL) make it all the time, there are even kite wars. There's no need of a candle to light it, the paper may reflect the street lights. Note that they state ut was not the first time they claim to have seen similar objects at two other occasions.

Another problem: They investigators claim it could not have been a RC helicopter, because no noise was heard (a common issue pointed by UFOlogists as evidence). Well, we're talking about Sao Paulo, its a city, and a very big one, for Ed's sake! Lots of background noise to mask any sound, you can hear a motorcycle's engine at a certain point, there are cars moving down the sreet. Not to mention that sound propagation is influenciated by wind...

Little can be said about the "object" itself. All I could see was a blob, quite often out-of-focus. To its left, there appears to be something that slightly blocks it. The maneauvers and the path are not easy to be marked, since for quite a bit of time just the object (out-of-focus)can be seen, with no reference point. This the path shown at the first link was made with some gesstimation. Speed seems -seems- fairly constant, what would point to a RC helicopter instead of a kite (kites maneauvering usually accelerate and decelalerate faster). The boy at a certain point asks if that could not and RC toy! But says something about being too fast, what is not true.

One last point: A woman's voice at the footage first seconds asks the boy to increase the zoom. How could she know what zoom level he was using? That camera model has an external screen?

[chillzero]

One last point: A woman's voice at the footage first seconds asks the boy to increase the zoom. How could she know what zoom level he was using? That camera model has an external screen?

Speaking as a mother - we tend to tell our kids what we want them to do, without checking the facts first. She could just be telling him to do it, to make sure he has done it - not because she can see that he hasn't.

[Correa Neto]

Just checked it again. The woman (the boy's mother?) checks somehow the zoom level (I guess by the len's lenght, I have no idea on how that camera model works) and tells him to increase the zoom.

Now, one extra issue: Would you let you 10-years old son film the UFO? If I considered it as important, I would grab the camera and film it myself, instead of telling him how to do it.

[Stray Cat]

I've just sat and watched it a few times...

What is always surprising to me when presented with films like this is why do we not see the footage to it's conclusion. The object is still in shot and presumably still holding their interest, but as the object gets closer to the camera or is getting to a position where you would get a better view of it... the film is cut.

Is there a longer version of this video where it is followed until it can not be seen anylonger?

I always suspect in these cases that the footage which has been cut would probably reveal the mundane possibilities, but I've got to admit this is only an assumption on my part based solely upon my complete dedication skepticism.

[Patricio Elicer]

Thanks for your responses so far.

One last point: A woman's voice at the footage first seconds asks the boy to increase the zoom. How could she know what zoom level he was using? That camera model has an external screen?That fact arose some suspicions on me as well, how she possibly knew what zoom level was at a given moment?. I checked about the camera, it's and old analog VHS-C model not likely lo have an external screen (though I don't know for sure). There are a lot of other suspicious elements, for example when the object does a sudden change in direction the woman makes a surprise/fear exclamation, but she does it before the manouvre actually takes place. Another suspicious fact is a strange noise heard at the precise moment the object seems to pass behind a house roof; just a coincidence, or there's something else to that sound?

BTW, the woman is a teenager (by 1998), cousin of the boy, if I recall correctly, named Katiusca.

I've just sat and watched it a few times...

What is always surprising to me when presented with films like this is why do we not see the footage to it's conclusion. The object is still in shot and presumably still holding their interest, but as the object gets closer to the camera or is getting to a position where you would get a better view of it... the film is cut.

Is there a longer version of this video where it is followed until it can not be seen anylonger?

I always suspect in these cases that the footage which has been cut would probably reveal the mundane possibilities, but I've got to admit this is only an assumption on my part based solely upon my complete dedication skepticism.Yes, I also suspected immediatly when I saw the footage abruptly cut at the end. Some time later, however, I saw part of a Brazilian documentary on the case where the "missing" ending seconds were included. It turns out that the object disappears behind a building roof, or at least that's the impression.

It's also said that the complete video available is around 4.5 min long. The footage made public by AION is 2 min long, so I wonder what's on those 2.5 remaining minutes. When I asked them why they did not include those 2.5 min, and that I found it to be suspicious, they answered that the full footage was shown at a UFO simposium and that it was watched by hundreds of people. Anyway, it looks to be a constant in ufology that not all cards are dealt, so to speak, when presenting a case to the general public. Also, when I asked them if I could purchase the full footage, I got no answer.

[Correa Neto]

Thanks for your responses so far.

That fact arose some suspicions on me as well, how she possibly knew what zoom level was at a given moment?. I checked about the camera, it's and old analog VHS-C model not likely lo have an external screen (though I don't know for sure).
My googling returned only e bay-type adds. No pictures with enough detail to check how the zoom feature works. Not even an online manual... However it was a quick googling. At the pics I found none was visible. The later GRAX880 does not has LCS screen, if the data I found at Amazon is OK.

But, supposing you were seeing a UFO. Would you let the kids handle the camera?

OK, maybe there was some way to check the camera's zoom level, and maybe the kids were better at camera handling than the adults. Still, raises some non-creduloid eyebrows...

There are a lot of other suspicious elements, for example when the object does a sudden change in direction the woman makes a surprise/fear exclamation, but she does it before the manouvre actually takes place. Another suspicious fact is a strange noise heard at the precise moment the object seems to pass behind a house roof; just a coincidence, or there's something else to that sound?
The boy asks if it could not be some RC model. Someone says it can't... And the investigators accept this as the final word. Great work.

BTW, the videos at the links do not show at any moment the alleged "incríveis acelerações" -incredible accelerations.

BTW, the woman is a teenager (by 1998), cousin of the boy, if I recall correctly, named Katiusca.
The article states there was another woman there, mother of another boy, and it seems I mixed them all up... I'm getting as lousy as the UFOlogists...

[TjW]

If there was a wind quartering from the left, I would suspect one of those round, metallized mylar balloons. It would have good reflectivity.
The motion is not inconsistent with something close to neutrally-buoyant on the lee side of an obstacle. The neighborhood looks like it's in a pretty hilly area.

[Patricio Elicer]

The boy asks if it could not be some RC model. Someone says it can't... Thanks for the translation, I wasn't aware of that. Sounds odd to me that the boy asked such a question, and also that he got an answer, hmmmm :rolleyes: . Wondering about a helium ballon, or a soap bubble would be more natural, but a remote control toy?. Does he make other guesses while filming?

BTW, the videos at the links do not show at any moment the alleged "incríveis acelerações" -incredible accelerations.I don't see any such accelerations, either.

[Correa Neto]

Here's a freely-translated transcript of the video at AION site. What I could understand, actually, since the audio is not that good and my notebook's loudspeakers are not exactly top notch...

0:00:13
Woman: Are you filming it?
Boy: More zoom! More Zomm!
Woman: Where is the zoom?
Boy: At the top, here!

0:00:20
Woman: Are you catching it?
Boy: yep, yep...
Woman: More zoom, more zoom!
*camera zooms in and object becomes out-of-focus*
Woman: No, stop, stop...
Boy: Backwards?
Woman: Backwards...
*Camera zooms out, object is better focused*
*object is at a descending trajectory*
Woman: More zoom! More zoom!
*camera zooms in*
Woman: Its good, what have you (done)?
*motorcycle noise*
Woman: Its good, keep it like this...
*object seems to be moving towards right, at a nearly horizontal trajectory*
Woman: (Calls someone I could not get the name) We've got it!
*uninteligible voice of a man*
*object seems to start an ascending trajectory*

0:00:56
*object out-of-focus*
*Now it seems to be the voice of another (older?) woman*
Woman: Take it off a bit...
*camera zooms out*
Boy:unintelligible
Woman's voice: My God, its coming down!
Boy: You've filmed? Got it?
Woman: Got it.
*object is moving towards right*
Woman: They blend with the city lights...
Boy: Mommy! Mom, mom! Ain't it remotely controlled? How can it descend so fast and so..
*object starts a descending trajectory towards left, seems to make some zig zags, but may be due to camera movment*
*no sudden changes of speed are apparent, neither the object seems to moving fast, as it can be inferred from the cars moving at the street*
Woman: I don't believe... (unintelligible)

0:1:50
Object is moving towards right, and makes a "s" curve
Woman: It's very close to the ground...

Note that there's background noise all the time. Cars, motorcycles, people talking, dogs barking, etc. So, the UFOlogists claim that the object could not be a RC hello because no noise was heard is well... Hard to sustain.

The INFA site also states that dogs would not stop barking, an implict suggestion of a connection between the UFO presence and the dogs´s behavior. I could not hear the alleged non-stop barking at the audio. But frankly, the neighborhood's dogs were barking? even if they were, it could be just a coincidence, since its not exactly a rare event... How would dogs react to an RC toy hello?

At the dialogues, there's an extra suspicious element. The sentence "They blend with the city lights...". They? Its a single object! Someone is jumping conclusions or...

Aniway, INFA site also states that it was not the first time such an object was seen there. The term used by the UFOlogists, "probe", is commonly used by Brazillian UFOlogists to "describe" small lights. But I digress...

[Patricio Elicer]

Thanks so much for the translation and transcript. Some bits of the conversation are quite understandable to me because they are almost the same as in Spanish, for example the remark "it blends with the city lights". But there are a lot of remarks previously unknown to me.

There are a lot of suspicious elements, indeed. In general, my appreciation is that the people involved in the "sighting" are overacting and exaggerating the whole thing. But who knows .....

[Correa Neto]

Np. Sometimes I like to be useful, but just sometimes...:D

The woman actually says "They blend with the city lights" "Eles se confundem com as luzes da cidade". Why the plural? There's a single small object in the video. I found this weird. Could she be talking about previous sigtings, as stated at INFA site? Maybe. Maybe she was jumping conclusions, or maybe its was intended to direct the opinions of those seeing the footage. Maybe I'm just too suspicious.

[wipeout]

Ever wondered what happens to children's party balloons when they float off into the sky? :D

A vast hot city, a breeze and large buildings(?) such as the one the footage is filmed from could produce all sorts of air currents to make balloons move up and down and around and around.

If the balloon was reflective, this might explain why its light "blends with the city lights".

I'd expect the building -- if large -- this was filmed from was giving air currents and some light. I'd also bet there are buildings to the left giving the same. Must check Google maps to see if I lose this bet. :)

So that's my guess.

Edit: Oops. I just saw TjW's suggested the same thing! Sorry :o

That's what I get for leaping straight to the video and not reading the thread properly.

[Patricio Elicer]

So that's my guess.

Edit: Oops. I just saw TjW's suggested the same thing! Sorry :o

That's what I get for leaping straight to the video and not reading the thread properly.My impresion is that the object is far too small to be a mylar balloon. I guess those balloons have limitations on minimal size so that the lift is enough to keep them aloft. In my local market, balloons of that kind are no less than 30 cm in diameter, the object on the video doesn't seem to be that big. I'm also under the impression that a mylar balloon won't reflect that much light from a pole bulb to look so bright. Well, but in the end, I have not experimented with those.

I have experimented with soap bubbles, though. Surprisingly their motion is quite similar to that of the object in the video. They are very sensitive to even mild air currents, constantly changing direction abruptly. Also I was surprised at how long they last in the air before bursting, it can be up to 3 minutes. The only problem is that they don't reflect enough light to appear as bright as the UFO in question. I did experiment videotaping a soap bubble close to a light source at night in the open, but it definetly does not shine.

I know there are soap bubbles that shine by their own light (no blacklight needed), but I don't think they are available here in Chile. For example, these:

http://www.galaxybubbles.com/main.htm

Unfortunatly they are not currently taking orders.

Has anyone experimented with those kind of bubbles?. I'd appreciate if someone provide me with a link to a site that is presently taking orders of those.

[qayak]

Hmmmmmmmmmmm................ I would suggest someone do a little experiment with an electric RC helicopter with a light attached. We used to do this when I was a kid and that is the first thing that popped into my head when I saw the video. Looks just like it. Electric RC toys are almost silent which would account for the lack of noise.

I think the kid answered the mystery while he was filming. I think mom wanted to see a UFO.

[PBTree]

I am going to have to assume that being a South American video that nearly all of the people involved are spanish catholic?? That being the case, the first words out of everyone's mouths when they saw the video, would have been

"madre de dios, objeto volante no identificado", then they would have knelt a little bit and crossed themselves.

I suppose if you believe in one really big piece of nonsense, then these little pieces become much easier.

I mean, UFOs need to visit Chile and not Washington/London/etc because it has so much...er, well it contains heaps of...um and it is the seat of....ah.

If they are so secretive that they never want to meet us, why would they fly around in the middle of a city knowing they could be seen. Did their anti-I-can-be-seen machine break down?

Probably the same bunch of green men that always seem to land in that small place called 'Luvyasista, Tennessee' and take cows away for disemboweling.

Could there be a big sign out in space somewhere that says "Terran Zoo, please don't feed the inhabitants". And all they were doing, was getting their 10 drachma's worth of viewing time.

Maybe its because, "UFOs work in mysterious ways". hmm, where have I heard that before.

[Patricio Elicer]

Hmmmmmmmmmmm................ I would suggest someone do a little experiment with an electric RC helicopter with a light attached. We used to do this when I was a kid and that is the first thing that popped into my head when I saw the video. Looks just like it. Electric RC toys are almost silent which would account for the lack of noise.But if that's true, then we would expect to see something solid on top blocking the light of clear backgrounds. That doesn't seem to be the case, judging by this video frame:

http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/1463/capaofoto159ym2.jpg

[Patricio Elicer]

If they are so secretive that they never want to meet us, why would they fly around in the middle of a city knowing they could be seen. Did their anti-I-can-be-seen machine break down?I agree with you that the UFO subject as a whole is full of contradictions and nonsense.

But at this point all I'm interested in, is to figure out what the hell that light can possibly be. In general, believers seem more interested in perpetuating a mystery, and skeptics in solving it.

[PBTree]

One thing that is not mentioned, is that it is only about the size of a tennis ball? (news report). Which would make it even easier to fudge. and,

How come this light, when they zoom in, is also the same shape as the background lights. ie cut off on the right side? Is there something there?

I think some people are having a great old laugh at the expense of the "ufologists".

[Correa Neto]

I am going to have to assume that being a South American video that nearly all of the people involved are spanish catholic?? That being the case, the first words out of everyone's mouths when they saw the video, would have been

"madre de dios, objeto volante no identificado", then they would have knelt a little bit and crossed themselves.



Nope. The footage is from Sao Paulo, Brazil. Our language is Portuguese. And depending on the neighborhood, Christian evangelic dominate. And none of the Catholics I know would have such a reaction.

[gfunkusarelius]

But if that's true, then we would expect to see something solid on top blocking the light of clear backgrounds. That doesn't seem to be the case, judging by this video frame:

http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/1463/capaofoto159ym2.jpg

i dont have any photos to back this up currently (maybe someone else does) but the light blooming and blurring from the camera would have a tendancy to obscure any thin elements that would block the background light in an ideal filming situation. you can try it yourself, especailly on cheaper consumer cameras, thos sort of situation will drop the detail you are looking for.

[Unnamed]

Isn't that a paper baloon, the kind that we (used to) use for the June festivities in the Northeast?

http://www.aguaforte.com/antropologia/festaabrasileira/festejos%20juninos.jpg

It is light enough to react to air currents, it has it's own light source and it could be made that small.

I have seen them being used for signaling by drug dealers, so they would not be out of place during the rest of the year.

[Correa Neto]

But if that's true, then we would expect to see something solid on top blocking the light of clear backgrounds. That doesn't seem to be the case, judging by this video frame:

http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/1463/capaofoto159ym2.jpg
The "right" side of the object seems to be blocked by something, but street light show the same effect, specially when out-of-focus. At 0:01:03 and 0:01:25, for example, the effect is clearly visible. It thus probably some video artifact.

At 0:01:55 it passes (?) in front of a street light, and nothing seems to block it. At 0:01:05 (out-of-focus), it seems to be dimmer than streetlights, it also seems to have a slight reddish or orange hue, not present on street lights. The intensity of the "object"´s light also seems to fluctuate.

Poor resolution avoids any detailed look. I think gfunkusarelius is corect, and maybe the details of any parts that could block the light would disappear in the light's blur. Note that the same thing happens with the street lights.

When looking again at the video, my impression that there's no way to say exactly how far from the cam the "object" is was strenghtened. It was small, but how small? The constant zooming in and out makes ver hard if not impossible to determine if the "object" at some point actually came closer from the camera. Heck, it could even be a moth illuminated by the street lights...

[SphereGuy]

The "right" side of the object seems to be blocked by something, but street light show the same effect, specially when out-of-focus. At 0:01:03 and 0:01:25, for example, the effect is clearly visible. It thus probably some video artifact....

Out of focus objects can pick up artifacts from the lense itself. I have a camera with a chipped lense and lights look exactly the same as in this video. The more out of focus, the more the chip shows up as it exaggerates the effect.

As far as the woman telling the boy to zoom and how could she know-I have an older VHS camera and when ever I use it around the house I attach it directly to a television so while I'm videoing so I don't have to use the eyepiece. Could this have been the case?

In any case, I think this is a case where the people shooting the video are believing what they are seeing-not in on a hoax. It's most likely just something mundane filmed under conditions that makes it look unidentifiable.

[PBTree]

Nope. The footage is from Sao Paulo, Brazil. Our language is Portuguese. And depending on the neighborhood, Christian evangelic dominate. And none of the Catholics I know would have such a reaction.

Peço desculpas.

De futuro, vou ter mais cuidado

[Correa Neto]

Out of focus objects can pick up artifacts from the lense itself. I have a camera with a chipped lense and lights look exactly the same as in this video. The more out of focus, the more the chip shows up as it exaggerates the effect.

As far as the woman telling the boy to zoom and how could she know-I have an older VHS camera and when ever I use it around the house I attach it directly to a television so while I'm videoing so I don't have to use the eyepiece. Could this have been the case?

In any case, I think this is a case where the people shooting the video are believing what they are seeing-not in on a hoax. It's most likely just something mundane filmed under conditions that makes it look unidentifiable.

The INFA (a Brazilian UFO study centre) article linked at the OP states the object was filmed from the balcony of a two-store house, located at the top of a hill. The cam's batteries had run out, and they had to use a power cord. There's no indication, at the article, if the camera was or not attached to a TV set.

Unamed suggests a small hot air balloon made of paper. We call them "balão japonês" (japanese balloon). These are relatively easy to purchase. Please don't take this as an argument of authority, but I'm quite familiar with hot air balloons of all sizes and shapes. I also made a number of "UFO" videos using some balloons that happened to be flying near my apartment. I think the shape of the balloon's body would probably have been seen at a number of times in the video, specially when the "object" passes ahead of clear buildings and the lightpole. The body (usually of a clear color) would be illuminated by the small fire used to war the air and by the city lights. I think unless quite distant from the camera, the body would have been recorded.

The same article also states that there were other witnesses, located at other places. Some claim to have been at 30 m or so from the object. At this point all the material we have to work with comes from the UFOlogists. And it may not be very reliable IMHO.

PBtree- NP, its Ok, as long as you don't say Brazil's capital is Buenos Aires. :p

[Patricio Elicer]

Unamed suggests a small hot air balloon made of paper. We call them "balão japonês" (japanese balloon). These are relatively easy to purchase. Please don't take this as an argument of authority, but I'm quite familiar with hot air balloons of all sizes and shapes. I also made a number of "UFO" videos using some balloons that happened to be flying near my apartment. I think the shape of the balloon's body would probably have been seen at a number of times in the video, specially when the "object" passes ahead of clear buildings and the lightpole. The body (usually of a clear color) would be illuminated by the small fire used to war the air and by the city lights. I think unless quite distant from the camera, the body would have been recorded.I think you have a very valid point here.

We skeptics are often critizised by "believers" to be over indulgent, and to promptly dismiss (and/or make fun of) any claim that borders the paranormal without thinking too much about it. I've tried hard to "be on their shoes", and I can't help but think that they are sometimes right on that.

I have put many hours of thought and research into the "Capao Redondo Case", I have come up with many hypothesis of what the "object" can possibly be, but I have to admit that the case is, to me, quite puzzling so far.

I don't think it's an extraterrestrial artifact, that's for sure, but at the same time I don't know what terrestrial "artifact" it can possibly be.

[Correa Neto]

Well, I'm glad you managed to understand my post despite the many typos, LOL...

This said, I don't know what was caught on that tape. But we can try to guess, and eliminate the most ulikely contenders. I have the impression it may be some small object close to the camera such as a large moth reflecting city lights. I remember seeing footage from Mexico (?) that was explained as out-of-focus insects. The glass+light trick can not also be ruled out (actually I have the impression that the distance between the object and the camere does not change, its just an impression created by zooming in and out).

But in both cases, how can one explain the other witnesses?

Sure, maybe the interview methodology used by the UFOlogists who investigated the case somehow influentiated their testimony.

Aside the moth and the glass trick, the other explantion would be an RC helicopter with a light attached. The torchlight's intensity could be big enough to blur the details. This effect would not be achieved by the weaker lght of a baloon. Now, the question is: Is such thing possible? Is it possible to mount a light strong enough at a 1998 RC helicopter (remember, light + power source, and the light must not be directional)?

I just thought of another alternative: A light hanging from a kite.

If we had a better quality video...

[HeyLeroy]

Dang, I'm getting a 'server error' when I click the link for the video.

[Unnamed]

Unamed suggests a small hot air balloon made of paper. We call them "balão japonês" (japanese balloon). These are relatively easy to purchase. Please don't take this as an argument of authority, but I'm quite familiar with hot air balloons of all sizes and shapes.
Thanks, Correa Neto, and I agree. I've only seen these baloons from far away.

[Patricio Elicer]

Dang, I'm getting a 'server error' when I click the link for the video.I am too, at the moment. Please try again a little later, I'd be interested in your opinion.

[HeyLeroy]

http://forums.randi.org/imagehosting/6197452454d58afd4.bmp

This is what I'm getting now. Looks like they took it down, maybe.

[Patricio Elicer]

I'm getting the same message in all my video files hosted at Mediamax. The server might be momentarily down or whatever problem, it's not the first time it happens. Sorry about that, please try again later.

[HeyLeroy]

Hey, it's not your fault.



It's Lisa Simpson's!

[Correa Neto]

*BUMP*
Anyone knows someone who owns a RC model helicopter? A group of hobbysts would be even better. Would this (these) person(s) be interested in testing the RC-helicopter-with-a-lamp-attached idea?

[wipeout]

It's amazing what a RC helicopter like the Raptor can do in skilled hands:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DudOKTpqRY

Recreating the UFO video footage would be a simple flight in comparison.

[Patricio Elicer]

It's amazing what a RC helicopter like the Raptor can do in skilled hands:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DudOKTpqRY

Recreating the UFO video footage would be a simple flight in comparison.Amazing, indeed!. The toy plus the appropriate GLOW IN THE DARK EQUIPPMENT (http://www.firetoys.co.uk/juggling/glow_juggling_equipment.html) will do it, right?


BTW, for those still wondering WTH is going on with the non-working video link in the OP, I contacted the Mediamax guys, they are having some trouble with a recent software upgrade. They are working on that.

[Correa Neto]

Wow!

That's pretty impressive! I had no idea they could be so maneauverable...

But I have some questions:
-A RC helicopter model from 1998 could duplicate the maneauvers seen in the video? (I guess so).
-Such model would be able to lift a relatively bright lamp (and a power source), and replicate the maneauvers?
-If the answers to the above questions are yes, then would we be able to see the RC helo in a VHS video made at similar conditions?

And now, for something completely OT...
Gotta buy one of those things, you know, to play with my son...
What? He's not 1 year-old yet?
Well, uhm... Gotta train first, so I can teach and help him...

[Patricio Elicer]

And now, for something completely OT...
Gotta buy one of those things, you know, to play with my son....I guess it is you who want to play with it :p . I've already searched the internet for those, hehehe. There are a lot of models, sizes and prices.The cheapest ones are on the US$ 45 range.

I came accross a website that has promotional videos on the models they sell. I forgot what site is, didn't bookmark it, but it's not hard to google it.

[wipeout]

A common cheap RC heli is the Piccolo:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=8GbRvUWR6pw

It's small, fast, light and quiet as it's electric. Notice in the video you can't hear it once it's a little distance away.

Something like it might be a candidate for the UFO if it was a RC helicopter but I don't know when it was introduced.

[wipeout]

Amazing, indeed!. The toy plus the appropriate GLOW IN THE DARK EQUIPPMENT (http://www.firetoys.co.uk/juggling/glow_juggling_equipment.html) will do it, right?

Heh, a glow in the dark RC heli could be fun to fly at night. :D

[Patricio Elicer]

Heh, a glow in the dark RC heli could be fun to fly at night. :DYeah, and a glow in the dark frisbee will make up a perfect flying saucer, hehe.

[wipeout]

Ready-made, string-less remote-controlled "kites" for night flying! :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUBSaihrDW4

This place makes them and has more footage:

http://www.goflykite.com/

We'd better remember this, just in case we get any reports of UFOs from Singapore. ;)

I wonder if these kites have been around for a while, they could have caused several UFO sightings elsewhere. They're kind of designed to do that!

It could give a whole new angle to the kite theory for this Brazilian UFO.

[Correa Neto]

Hey, there's a group of people who play with similar things where I live! No lights, they fly the things from a cliff by the sea.

The question is, were they avaliable in Brazil back in 1998?

Dammit, gotta buy one of those!!!!! I can start my own UFO flap!!!!!!

[wipeout]

I ran across what appears to be some extra footage of this UFO incident. It appears from 39 seconds in:

Tz3dnWUTVrE

You'll see a totally different shape to this UFO. It now appears stationary over a different part of the city and has little lights along the edges.

Amusingly, that looks almost like the remote-controlled string-less kites I pointed out before at the link below...

http://www.goflykite.com/

However, I'd add that it's hovering perfectly still now, which could mean it's a kite with lights but has a very long string. A stringless kite wouldn't do that, I think, as you need tension to hold it still.

So a normal kite but with lights could actually be the answer. It could be shiny as well, hence it matching the city lights for colour as the voices on the footage say it does. Or it could have no lights and simple be reflecting the city at all times.

[Patricio Elicer]

That's very interesting!

However, it looks like the footage is edited in a way that it shows two different events. Can you please provide the original link to YouTube, to read the description and comments to the video?

[Patricio Elicer]

Nevermind, I found it. No additional info, however.

[wipeout]

I noticed that the witnesses talk of a small sphere but I don't know if they talk about what this new footage shows.

[Patricio Elicer]

I emailed the guy who uploaded that video for more information about it. Hopefully I get a reply.

In the interim, I made a video that mixes two different footage. The first part is the one promoted by the Brazilian UFO organization INFA (it doesn't add anything anyway). The second part is from a TV program broadcast in Brazil. The interesting aspect of the latter is that it includes the last couple of seconds (not shown on the AION video) when the object seems to dissapear behind the white building.

It looks like the investigators were wrong regarding the path followed by the object on the last seconds.

VIDEO (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8pVzJM2pLo).

http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/599/capaofoto191fc.jpg

http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/7769/capaofoto1490bn.jpg

I also made a gif of those final couple of seconds.

http://www.boomspeed.com/pelicer/capao_animacion2.gif.

[wipeout]

It's always good to see new footage and more on the flight path. The second part of the video makes it easier to see the object's apparent changes as it moves too. It looks like it's fluttering!

I wonder what a shiny piece of aluminium foil would look like if it was blown around over a city. I must also mention that the power lines make me wonder about the kite flying idea. ;)

[Dazed]

Obviously way too small to be a craft of any kind.

[Patricio Elicer]

The woman actually says "They blend with the city lights" "Eles se confundem com as luzes da cidade". Why the plural? There's a single small object in the video. I found this weird.In light of the new video found by Wipeout, her testimony may make sense because there's a segment with several separated lights. That's only if that video corresponds to the same event, about which I'm not certain at the moment.

As I said before, the AION executives said there's 4.5 minutes of footage of the sighting, but the video they made public is only 2 minutes long. So of course there's more to it.

Another thing that caught my attention is that the UFO path drawn by the Brazilian investigators in the diurnal picture above, corresponds almost exactly just to the 2-minute AION video. So I wonder what's on those missing 2.5 seconds, I wonder why the investigators did not take that part into account on their path sketch.

Quite often I get the strong impression that "not all cards are dealt" when a UFO investigation is made public.

[Patricio Elicer]

I found the subject being discussed on another board (http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread223811/pg1). It's interesting that other people speculate on a RC helicopter as well.

[Operaider]

Could be something as simple as a white plastic shopping bag caught in the breeze. Wouldn't be the first time i'd seen one blow around like a kite.

[wipeout]

Yeah, a white or reflective shopping bag can certainly fly like that.

I wonder how many and how bright the lights are from the building this was filmed from. That could help keep the object bright if it was simply something reflective.