Carleton University Simulator Project (CUSP)
The Carleton University Simulator Project (CUSP) is a ground-breaking research project that brings an entirely new range of motion to flight simulation. The first project of its kind at Carleton, CUSP began more than a decade ago as a 4th year student (Capstone) project with a goal to create a unique 6-degree-of-freedom simulator. Translating in three directions and rotating 360 degrees about any axis, the resulting Atlas simulator allows pilots to experience motion not achievable with standard flight simulators. Atlas also incorporates the largest of five (CUSP, Wind Lab, ACE, Applied Dynamics Labs) motion platforms used in Carleton Aerospace Research.
As air travel becomes increasingly automated, pilots have less opportunity to gain experience handling dangerous situations in the air. As a result, inexperienced pilots do not have the same reference point for quick response they may have gained in the field in the past. By providing pilots with these experiences in training, they are better equipped to handle emergencies in air. The Atlas simulator also allows pilots to train for edge-of-envelope emergency conditions that are to too dangerous to routinely practice in the real aircraft.