Doru Davidovici (; 1945–1989), was a Romanian

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

and writer. Born in a

Romanian-Jewish The history of the Jews in Romania concerns the Jews both of Romania and of Romanian origins, from their first mention on what is present-day Romanian territory. Minimal until the 18th century, the size of the Jewish population increased aft ...

family, Doru Davidovici became one of the most loved Romanian fiction writers in the 1980s. During the

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a ...

years, his books gave an unusual sense of

liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

and new horizons by describing the experience of flying, and the closeness it forged – both between pilots, and between pilots and their machines. The plane is seen by Davidovici not simply as a machine that enables one to fly but as an actual character, with its own personality and almost with its own soul. His work is influenced by writers like

Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury (; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of modes, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery fictio ...

, Radu Tudoran and

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a ...

. The titles include ''The Horses of Voroneţ'' (1974), ''The Colour of the Sky'' (1981), ''Silver Wings'' (1983) and ''Rise and Walk'' (1989). Keeping a sense of proportion, it is reasonable to draw a parallel between Davidovici and the French aviator and writer

Antoine de Saint Exupéry Antoine is a French given name (from the Latin ''Antonius'' meaning 'highly praise-worthy') that is a variant of Danton, Titouan, D'Anton and Antonin. The name is used in France, Switzerland, Belgium, Canada, West Greenland, Haiti, French Guian ...

. They both found a source of literary inspiration in their profession, and they both died, at about the same age, flying a fighter plane. Beside his narrative work, Doru Davidovici is known for his essay on the UFOs, ''My colleagues from the unknown''. Here Davidovici regards, once again through his pilot eyes, the UFOs and the issues raised by their presumed existence. Doru Davidovici lost his life together with Dumitru Petra on 20 April 1989 during landing procedures while flying his

MiG-21 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-21; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nickn ...

from a training flight back home to

RoAF 86th Air Base The Romanian Air Force 86th Air Base "Lieutenant Aviator Gheorghe Mociorniță" ( ro, Baza 86 Aeriană "Locotenent aviator Gheorghe Mociorniță") is located in commune Borcea, Călărași County. It is currently the home of the 53rd Fighter ...

Literary works

His published works include: *''Caii de la Voroneț'' (1973) *''Ultima aventură a lui Nat Pinkerton'' (1975) *''Insula nevăzută'' (1976) *''Intrarea actorilor'' (1977) *''Zeița de oricalc'' (1977) *''Celula de alarmă'' (1979) *''Culoarea cerului'' (1981) *''Aripi de argint'' (1983) *''Lumi galactice'' (1986) *''V de la Victorie'' (1987)

Published posthumously

*''Ridică-te și mergi'' (1991) *''Dezmințire la Mit'' (1991)

References

External links

webpage dedicated to Doru Davidovici

"Winged Child of the Blue", article about Doru Davidovici
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davidovici, Doru 1945 births 1989 deaths Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in Romania Jewish Romanian writers Romanian male novelists Romanian aviators Romanian Air Force officers 20th-century Romanian novelists 20th-century Romanian male writers Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1989