After more time online tonight i can say i am still getting the split second freezes.
Tried at 1600x1200 res and 1280x1024.
Ground detail 3 miles, other 2 sliders probably 85 - 90%
All options in video setup selected also tried unlimited and 512 textures.
Sometimes while just changing view and far too often whilst fighting in close.
No CTD's for me today though.
Also noticed the fade in and out icons and ships etc have gone tonight, i hope they will return as that worked very well.
Radeon 9800 pro, Cats 4.5, all settings at quality, 4 x AA and 8 x AF
P4 3.2
Win XP Pro
512 ram