FlightSim.Com Reviews: Hangsim

Wilco Publishing's Hangsim

By Phillip M. Overgaard (30 November 1999)

My favorite aircraft is the Hawk. Very high performance and aerobatic too. The pilot is a little goofy looking though.

lightsim fans live in a great time. Gone are the days where we only have a few choices for PC based flight. Programs such as Flight Unlimited, FLY!, Combat FS, Falcon 4.0, FS2000, etc...the list goes on. Now, you can add one more to the list, Hangsim. Previously known for such Microsoft FS add-ons as Tahiti Scenery, Airport 2000, and Grand Canyon, Wilco Publishing has now developed their own simulator. From my experience, their entry into the "Flightsim Wars" is a strong one. Let's take a closer look.

The Manual

The version of Hangsim that I received was the Gold Master version. Therefore, I did not receive the usual box or printed manual, but the software is identical to the final product. Thankfully, a manual was included on the CD in PDF format. A simulator is only as good as the documentation that accompanies it. In this case, we have a winner. Judging by the page numbers, you have 29 pages of useful information. I say useful because the last few pages are used for advertisements for other Wilco products, but I digress.

The manual covers the usual stuff such as system requirements, installation, and how and where to configure the sim (joystick, resolution, sound, etc.). Topics such as aircraft specifications, flying tips, and the physics of light aviation are also discussed. This is the sort of manual you will need to sit down and read before flying to fully enjoy the sim. That by the way is a good thing!

When you crash your aircraft doesn't break apart but you can put part of your aircraft into the ground. Pretty soft mountainside if you ask me.
Challenge flights come in many varieties and you can choose between different skill levels as well. Lots of fun to be had here!
After you complete your challenge, you are presented with a summary. An explanation of the scoring system is in the manual.

Aircraft

Wilco claims that Hangsim is "the world's first true light aviation simulation." As one might expect, there are no Boeing 747s or F-16s to be found. Instead, Hangsim offers three hang-gliders, two paragliders (man and his trusty parachute), one glider (or sailplane), and one motorized ultralight. Visually they all look great, an important plus. Since I have never flown any of these types of aircraft in the real world, I cannot comment on how accurate the flight models are but they seem to be on target. With a good joystick they all fly very well.

Each aircraft shares the same instrument panel. You have the option, however, to select how it is displayed: no instruments, small or large instruments, or HUD style. As these aircraft are basic, so too are the instruments they come with. You have an airspeed indicator, altimeter, vertical speed indicator, and for those with an engine, a tachometer. A compass and a simple GPS are included to round out the "avionics package."

The friendly welcome screen gives you access to all areas of the simulator. Here's a helpful hint: you don't need the "Exit Hangsim" button. Grin.
My favorite! The "Fun Flights" allow you to fly an ultralight armed with rockets to shot other fliers out of the skies! Not realistic but boy is it fun!
You can land anywhere you want, even on water. Look at the way the sunlight reflects off of the buildings in the background. I just wish you could land on them (and blow them up!).

Scenery

What good is a flight simulator without scenery? Hangsim delivers yet again in this area. Based on aerial photos, the seven areas feature breathtaking realistic ground texturing and mountainous terrain.

The first three flight areas are in France. The Mountain area is in the French alpine region centered on the resort of Chamonix. The highest peak in this area is 4 km! The Gorges features the area around Verdon. Next is the Valley area representing the Puys region.

The last four flight areas are in the United States, California specifically. The Ridge area is based on the Torrey Pines area. While this area is smaller than the others are, its texture detail is greater lending to a more realistic flight experience. The Beach area is the city of Del Mar, California. City features San Diego and Metro features the suburbs of Los Angles. Ridge, Beach, and City are adjacent so that you can try your hand at cross-country flying.

All aircraft have the ability to deploy a parachute if you find yourself in some trouble. When things have calmed down, it can be released so that you can continue flying.
Looking down over France. You can turn the pilot's head in any direction by holding down the left mouse button and moving the pointer in the direction you want.
The Heads Up Display (HUD). The screenshot doesn't do it justice. It's really a lot clearer and easier to read in the sim.

Performance

One of the burning questions when it comes to flight simulation regards system performance. On my system (see specifications below), Hangsim performed well. Environmental options such as clouds and visibility did have an impact of frame rates. The rule of thumb here is to keep the clouds off and play with visibility, generally more is better. You have to remember that these aircraft are really fair weather flyers. Also, the numbers of other flyers in the skies with you made frame rates go down. Again, the idea here is to have less. In the Competition and Fun flights you cannot select how many others you want with you but in the Challenge and Free flights, you can have the skies to yourself.

The ugly bleedthrough. The great looking mountains more than make up for it though.
Mountains so real they give me goose bumps. Or is it the snow?
Floating downwards to an evening landing in Chamonix, France. I can feel the stress just melting away...

Closing Thoughts

Overall, I really enjoyed my time with Hangsim. It was good to get away from flying the latest in civil transports in MS Flight Simulator to return to the simpler things. The meteorological effects (turbulence, up drafts, thermals) are something to behold and can be a real challenge sometimes! The only real bad part of Hangsim was a bleed through problem (see the screenshots), but it can be overlooked with a little effort. I feel that I can honestly recommend this simulator to anyone who is looking to get back to the basics of flying or those just looking for a good stress reliever. Two thumbs up!

Hangsim was tested on the following system:

Pentium II 400MHz processor
64MB of RAM
ATI Expert@Play 8MB Video Card
1024 x 768 screen resolution, 24 bit color
Windows 98 Second Edition
Microsoft Sidewinder Precision Pro Joystick USB

Phillip M. Overgaard
overgard@7cities.net

Visit the Hangsim Website: http://www.hangsim.com

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