Latest news with #Bodenheimer
New York Post
20-06-2025
- General
- New York Post
Former US fighter pilot claims he nearly collided with UFO in ‘wildest experience' he's ever had
A former US combat fighter pilot claims a UFO encounter he had while zipping around in the sky at 30,000 feet was one of the 'wildest experiences' he's had in his seasoned military career. Maj. Ryan Bodenheimer, a former ace of the US Air Force Thunderbirds and F-15E combat fighter pilot, recounted on his YouTube channel earlier this month how he came close to almost colliding with a UFO shaped like a 'perfect rectangle' while on a training mission in southern Wyoming. Bodenheimer alleged that he was flying during the day at about 30,000 feet in the sky, at a speed of 400 knots (460 mph), when a 'bright object' caught his attention off in the distance, 'out of nowhere.' 4 US Air Force Maj. Ryan Bodenheimer, United States Air Force Thunderbirds pilot #2 speaks with JROTC students at Vanden High School, Fairfield, Calif., on May 5, 2017. U.S. Air Force However, Bodenheimer realized that the object was on a 'collision course' with his aircraft. 'I put my hand on the control stick, I'm about to turn off the autopilot, and then I realized we weren't going to hit, and all of a sudden it came more into view, and it was a rectangular shape,' he said. 'This was like essentially a perfect rectangle.' He claims the object appeared to be '30 to 40 feet' high, with 'bright white' along the outside edges that looked to be 'glowing' and a clear center. 'I know it sounds like I'm talking about a delicious pastry, but this was the wildest experience I've ever had,' the former fighter pilot said. Bodenheimer, for a moment, theorized that the object could be a weather balloon, but he claimed that it didn't look like anything he had ever seen in the sky before. 4 Bodenheimer alleged that he was flying during the day at about 30,000 feet in the sky, at a speed of 400 knots (460 mph), when a 'bright object' caught his attention off in the distance, 'out of nowhere.' Youtube / Max Afterburner 'There's no wings on this thing, no exhaust. The edges were so bright they were pulsing. Aerodynamically, this thing shouldn't be going at close to 400 knots. For a rectangle to be flying through the air was a wild experience,' he said. He said that he wasn't picking up any signal on his radar and wasn't experiencing any radio interference as it kept pace with his jet at 400 knots just a short distance away. 'It really was defying any type of aeronautical laws that I've learned,' Bodenheimer shared. The suspected UFO then 'zooms off,' and Bodenheimer said he called into air traffic control to report the encounter. 4 Bodenheimer claims the object appeared to be '30 to 40 feet' high, with 'bright white' along the outside edges that looked to be 'glowing' and a clear center. Air Force Thunderbirds 4 Bodenheimer maneuvers his F-16 Fighting Falcon on the flight line at Langley Air Force Base, Va., on April 24, 2016. U.S. Air Force After telling the controller what happened, he said there was a 'dead silence' before they told the fighter pilot they'd have other aircraft be on the lookout for the object. 'I never heard anything about it [after],' the former fighter pilot said. However, he did do some searching of his own and said there was a report filed that day on an 'anomalous object' spotted in his area. Bodenheimer said for years he never wanted to discuss his two run-ins with UFOs after worrying about the 'stigma' around other pilots who have shared their encounters. However, the pilot-turned-YouTuber said that since the stigma has dissipated, he is more comfortable opening up about his experience, with more reports of military pilots encountering UFO-like objects in the sky over the last two decades. Southern Wyoming is notoriously known for having some of the most UFO sightings in the country, according to the Cowboy State Daily. The city of Cheyenne, which is home to Warren Air Force Base, has had over 50 reported aerial phenomena, out of the state's 421 sightings since 1995.
NDTV
16-06-2025
- General
- NDTV
Former US Air Force Pilot Describes "Shiny" Object In Bizarre UFO Claim
The search for alien life remains inconclusive, but sightings of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) continue to stir public interest - often without verifiable evidence. Now, a former US Air Force pilot has shared what he calls his "wildest experience" involving two mysterious objects during his time in service. Ryan Bodenheimer, who served with the elite Thunderbirds aerobatic team, recounted the sightings in a video on his YouTube channel. He said the stigma around UFO sightings among pilots has faded over the years. In one incident, while returning from a training exercise near the highly classified Area 51, Bodenheimer claimed an object zipped past his jet at 400 knots (approximately 740 km/h) at 30,000 feet. He described it as "a silver, unpainted, shiny, reflective" craft shaped like a 3D triangle with wing-like structures underneath and a vertical tail. "It looked like a futuristic fighter jet - too advanced, almost machine-welded," he said, adding that neither he nor his superiors picked up anything on radar. The second incident, he said, occurred at a similar altitude when a rectangular object slowly approached from the front left. "Its edges were so bright they were pulsing," he said. "The centre was clear and slightly coloured." Bodenheimer reported the sighting to Air Traffic Control, though no radar confirmation followed. According to the Pentagon's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), there were 757 new UFO reports between May 2023 and June 2024. Most occurred in controlled airspace, with no underwater sightings. Roughly 300 cases have been explained, while the rest remain unresolved.
Los Angeles Times
19-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
NOLA bar pops up at Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel for carnival season
You don't have to travel to New Orleans to celebrate carnival season. This year, the Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel is bring Mardi Gras to Orange County by hosting famed NOLA bar Cure. The classic cocktail bar will pop up at the Dana Point resort at Bar RAYA now through March 31. 'The whole thesis behind this was, how do we take the long and storied history of New Orleans and run it through the bounty of California?' said CureCo managing partner Neal Bodenheimer. 'It became really fun for me to think about all the things we have in common and all the things we don't have in common.' Cure opened in NOLA's Freret Street corridor in the wake of the flooding after Hurricane Katrina and is credited with pioneering the craft cocktail movement in Crescent City and beyond. Bodenheimer collaborated with CureCo beverage director Matt Young and lead bartender Liz Kelley to create Cure in 2009, and the bar went on to earn a James Beard Award as well as recognition as one of North America's 50 Best Bars. Besides creating Cure, Bodenheimer is also co-chair of the board of directors for the Tales of the Cocktail Foundation and author of 'Cure: New Orleans Drinks and How to Mix 'Em.' On Feb. 12, the pop-up kicked off with a King Cake Party, with Bodenheimer himself behind the bar, mixing drinks for guests. 'We are here because we love to represent New Orleans cocktails and culture and it has been really fun to do it in California, especially in Orange County specifically,' said Bodenheimer. A menu of Cure cocktails offers descriptions of the drinks as well as a short history of their origins. Each one is inspired by New Orleans but reimagined using California ingredients to really make them shine. 'While so many companies are global, drinking and eating really is local,' said Bodenheimer. 'You are only as good as the bounty of your area, and who has better bounty than California?' The roffignac, for instance, is named for Count Louis Phillipe Joseph de Roffignac, a mayor of New Orleans in the 1820s. Popularized on Royal Street, the highball cocktail gets a SoCal twist in the form of blanco tequila, mezcal and house-made carrot and blood orange shrub. The Hurricane cocktail is another drink that gets credited to the Big Easy. Said to have been created at Pat O'Briens in the 1940s, the rum drink has become a tropical favorite worldwide. 'Pat O'Brien is the creator of the Hurricane, and you can still get a Hurricane there today,' Bodenheimer said. 'He was a speakeasy owner in New Orleans, which was considered the wettest city in American during prohibition.' Bodenheimer said the key element to a good Hurricane is fassionola, the fruit syrup used in the mixed drink. Pomegranate, guava and passion fruit are in season in California now, and Bodenheimer used those tropical fruits to make Cure's house-made fassionola. Other drinks on the menu are lesser known classic cocktails that Cure has made popular by reworking them to fit today's palette. 'The Old Hickory, it is a cocktail from the 1930s, and that cocktail was not a popular New Orleans at all, but it is a cocktail that we thought drank like a very modern aperitivo cocktail,' said Bodenheimer. 'So we dusted it off and had a great time messing around with it.' In honor of the pop-up, the resort's chef de cuisine, Irving Nunez , has added Louisiana staples like po' boys and étouffée to the menu. In the bar, savory bites like cacio e pepe deviled eggs, spiced with black pepper and sprinkled with Parmesan cheese, are served along with crawfish croquettes in remoulade and traditional sweets like beignets. As a special treat, King Cake from pastry chef Abigail Naguit will be served too. Traditionally, the cake is served 12 days after Christmas with a porcelain figure of a baby baked inside meant to represent Jesus and said to bring good luck to the person who gets the baby in their slice. Naguit's take on the classic cake includes whipped cinnamon ganache with butter pecan ice cream, while other custom flavors, like Meyer lemon curd accompanied by a gin glaze, candied celery and lemons, will also be available, designed to pair with Bodenheimer's cocktails. On weekends a live Jazz band will play in the lounge, completing the New Orleans experience. For dining reservations visit
