USAFA Class Heritage

BARRY T. BIELINSKI Born August 22, 1941 in Vaughn, NM, I was raised in Chicago. At USAFA, I was an NCAA All American Swimmer and Swim Team Captain. After the USAFA experience, I went to Pilot Training at Vance AFB, OK, and flew the T-37 and T38. I then went to Castle AFB, CA, and flew the KC-135. Later I received a Forward Air Controller (FAC) assignment in Vietnam, and I was trained in the T-33, F-100 Super Sabre and the O-1 Bird Dog for that assignment. In 1969, when I returned from Vietnam, I separated from the active duty Air Force and joined Trans World Airlines (TWA), and the California Air National Guard (ANG). Except for two long furlough periods, I worked for TWA, then American Airlines. During the furloughs, I have flown fixed wing and helicopter aircraft for the California ANG. I was a Stockbroker for Merrill Lynch, completed an MBA at Santa Clara University, and owned a restaurant in Los Gatos, CA. I retired from TWA/American Airlines in 2001 as a Captain on the MD-80. In 1975, I married my superlative wife, Seonaid McArthur. She has a Doctorate in Education. She has taught at two colleges, worked at the Art Institute of Chicago, and was the Curator of Education at the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego. In 2009, she founded the America Friends of the Musee Orsay, a foundation to help raise money for the Paris Orsay Art Museum. We lived in Paris for five years, and she has published two guide books for Paris Museums. She currently is involved with historic preservation in La Jolla. We have a wonderful son, Christopher, who is a software engineer and a real achiever! I keep myself busy in my free time with enjoying family and friends, traveling the world, working out, running a Book Group, and enjoying life in Southern California. 

Good Health to You, Live Long, and Prosper.