Gunnar Edelstein was born 1949 in Albuquerque, N.M. He graduated from the Wilbraham & Monson Academy, Wilbraham, Mass., in 1968 and received a B.S. degree in biology and chemistry from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1972.

Gunnar joined the U.S. Navy in San Diego, California, and served for seven years as a fighter pilot. In 1979 he joined American Airlines as a flight engineer on Boeing 727s and one year later was laid off and joined Air Products & Chemicals in sales, and also served in the Massachusetts Air National Guard flying A-10 Thunderbolts. In 1984, he rejoined American Airlines as a Boeing 727 copilot and retired from flying in 2011.

Edelstein is now in sales with Prudential Connecticut Realty. He was on the Darien Board of Realtors board for three years and was president in 2011. Gunnar and his wife Sarah live in Darien and have a son, Jeff, 26, who is a U.S. Army combat infantryman.

Gunnar is a member of the Silvermine Golf Club, the Darien Sail & Power Squadron, and the Noroton Yacht Club. He enjoys golf, sailing, paddle tennis and tennis.

Arranged by Gary Banks

Bryan Hooper’s notes on the talk:

Gunnar Edelstein, a DMA member, shared with us his experiences of flying the A-10 Thunderbolt, otherwise known as the Warthog, as a reflection of its less than streamlined appearance. Gunnar graduated in 1972 when the Vietnam war was still being waged and joined the US Navy in San Diego where he was assigned to a carrier group and flew A-4 Skyhawk attack jets. After leaving the Navy in 1979, he joined American Airlines in Dallas for a brief period before being laid off as a result of the second world oil crisis following the Iranian revolution. Gunnar then worked for Air Products and joined the Massachusetts Air National Guard 131st Fighter Squadron flying the A-10.

He noted that the A-10 was originally developed in the 1970s to destroy Russian tanks, and was an aircraft designed essentially around a very powerful Gatling gun firing 30mm depleted uranium shells. In addition to the rotary cannon, the aircraft carries under the wing multiple missiles and bombs, some guided by infra-red, others by a television system, so it is a fearsomely-armed ally for the troops. Since the A-10 is relatively slow at 340 to 400 miles per hour, and therefore vulnerable to ground force attacks, the design of the craft considered the survival of the pilot by enclosing the seat in a 1200 lb. titanium bathtub, providing self-sealing fuel tanks in the event of a strike, flares and chaff to decoy enemy missiles, redundant hydraulic systems, and reinforcing armor. It also has a short take-off distance of 4000 feet making it versatile in terms of operating fields, has an on-station capability of 1.75 hours, and can be re-fueled in flight. The A-10 was used extensively in the first Iraq War, and responsible for destroying over 900 tanks, 2000 vehicles and 1200 artillery pieces.

The mission of the A-10 was essentially close air support for ground troops. Gunnar’s son, Jeff, joined the presentation with a video to illustrate his very personal experiences with the power of the A-10 in that role in real life. Jeff was in the 173rd Airborne Brigade as a paratrooper serving in Afghanistan and pinned down in an extremely dangerous situation by enemy forces in June, 2010. He credited the fast and accurate intervention by A-10 pilots to saving the day – and his life.

Gunnar’s talk, together with his presentation slides and videos, as well as Jeff’s contribution, can be seen at: https://youtu.be/wnJlcKY8k6s.