This was understandable since it was distributed as shareware by its author, Ilan Papini. For its commercial release, the interface has been much improved and the already impressive graphics and flight model further tweaked. Installation was a breeze and took up approximately 190M of disk space although the minimum specs quoted for this title are 250M. There may be a swap file hanging around somewhere. Once installation is completed, the Hangsim CD can be used as a coaster or an unusual Christmas tree decoration since everything is copied to the hard disk and the CD isn't required to run the program. Seven different regions provide a variety of flying conditions for these aircraft.
Some regions are suitable for slope soaring, others favour the hunt for thermals .
The areas mapped are quite extensive. The scenery is based on aerial photography of regions in France and California and, by and large, the results are pretty impressive. Of course with this type of graphics, the higher up you are the better they look. In this kind of simulator, you aren't going to spend much time at high altitude unless you are a thermal haunting genius or make copious use of the cheat keys but even at low level, they don't look too bad. One especially pleasing aspect of the terrain is the way in which hills, mountains and valleys are modelled and the player can get a real feeling of flying through a deep valley or soaring over snow topped peaks.