Safari tours to view the exotic wildlife in the swamps of Brazil's Matto Grosso may
     never be the same again.

     The 89,000 square mile Pantanal nature reserve - more famous for species like yellow
     anacondas, caymans, giant ant-eaters, howler monkeys and jaguars - is preparing to
     encourage other creatures.

     For officials in the nearby town of Barra do Garcas have designated 12 acres as the
     world's first UFO airport.

     The Pantanal is already the UFO hotspot of the world, with hundreds more sightings
     reported than anywhere else.

     Local Councillor Valdon Vargao, who initiated the plan and has made nationwide tours
     with Mayor Vilmar Peres to publicise the UFO airport, said: "They can call me mad.
     But I'm doing humanity a service."

     He insists: "My main concern is to maintain a cordial and official relationship with
     the extraterrestrials."

     His "Interspace Aerodrome" signs have gone up all over the fenced off site in
     preparation for concreting it over - just to make sure the UFOs do not get stuck in the
     mud.

     Brazil's foremost UFO expert, A.J. Gervaerd - whose centre for Flying Saucer
     Research is on the edge of the Pantanal - is in regular contact with Valdon Vargao.

     "A.J." as he is known to UFO spotters across the world, said: "They're very excited
     about it in Barra do Garcas and there is huge interest in UFOs in Brazil generally."

     Philip Mantle, of the British UFO Research Association, said: "For some strange
     reason the Pantanal has been very popular for sightings of UFOs."

     "Some people there have claimed to have had close encounters."

     Soon, if the new airport encourages alien visitors to make official contact, they may be
     able to say: "Beam me up Scotty".

     MORE ON THE ITALIAN HANGAR UFO

     For a time long we have collected alleged UFO sightings coming from the Aviano area,
     most likely due to stealth aircraft (and RPV too) activity. The 1980 (not 1979) Aviano
     case published by T.Good in one of his books (originally investigated by CISU and
     widely reported on in its official magazine) is an interesting event for which no
     explanation has been found yet. The statement "Subsequent rumours have spread that
     the base, like many of its cousins back home, is only the outer skin of a vast
     underground facility. That this space may serve as a storage area for secret discoidal
     craft and has since become an irresistible assumption for Italian ufologists." is incorrect,
     as far as we know. Those "rumours" (who did collect them ?) didn't surface from Italian
     ufologists, who are usually quite far from "Area51-like" themes: maybe the source is
     somebody from or friend of the AFB staff. Be sure, all of this has not "become an
     irresistible assumption for Italian ufologists": I repeat, the case was unknown to us and
     Fortean Times is the only source available to us. I think the above information may
     contribute to make the Aviano photo case a little bit clearer.

Uknown Author and Title

     The article covers various things, but of photographic interest is the part regarding an
     Italian Air Force Base.

     Aviano Air Force base is actually two air force bases butted together. The larger more
     active is controlled by the US Air Force; while the other considerably smaller, its
     buildings noticeably paint-peeled and rusty and is the regional home of the Italian Air
     Force.

     Aviano has also gained its share of notoriety among ufologists. In his best selling book
     Above Top Secret, author Tim Good relates the story of Benito Manfre, a night
     watchman of the ancient and picturesque Castello D'Aviano, set high in the oldest part
     of the town overlooking the base. One night in 1979, Benito was awakened by his dog
     barking and walked outside to see a stationary 'mass' of light hovering low over the
     hangars. Otherwise, according to the story, the base was in total darkness. After he
     had watched for a few minutes, Benito's lights now resembling a glowing disc, rose up
     and glided noiselessly past him before disappearing behind the mountains. Seconds
     later, the arc lights of the base flickered on again. Through the mist Signor Manfre
     could see vehicles and officers in unusual activity around the hangars. Subsequent
     rumours have spread that the base, like many of its cousins back home, is only the
     outer skin of a vast underground facility. That this space may serve as a storage area
     for secret discoidal craft and has since become an irresistible assumption for Italian
     ufologists.

     The author 'Irving' states that during the evening of the day he visited the outskirts of the
     base he was sat talking to a couple of pilots in the California Beer Parlour in
     down-town Aviano. During the conversation Irving asked about a strange craft that he
     thought he had seen jutting out from one of the hangars of the base. It was apparently a
     long way from the fence.

     He said:

          'It looked chrome-coloured, but it was hard to see properly and could I
          have more details? Death smiled a Colgate smile, poured me some more
          with a jovial back slap - we were pals now - and then promised to send
          me some flight- suit patches and other mementoes (which never arrived).
          It's the American way.'

     In the magazine is a photograph that Irving took of the open hangar with a fighter
     aircraft outside but near to it. Something can be seen inside the hangar. Another
     photograph shows a computer enhanced picture of the entrance to the hangar. It looks
     as though they have used a computer to zoom-in on the photograph. It shows what
     appears to be a saucer shaped disc with what could be windows around the top.