Abstract: A device and method for flying an aircraft is disclosed. According to one example, the device includes a vehicle management computer configured to position a plurality of control surfaces of the aircraft to control the aircraft. The device further includes a high performance computer being configured to execute one or more high level intelligence algorithms to selectively operate the aircraft autonomously in an autonomous mode. The device further includes an actuator coupled to a piloting input, wherein the piloting input controls an aspect of the aircraft. The device further includes an actuation control unit to actuate the actuator coupled to the piloting input to move the piloting input from a first position to a second position.