You're right to complain about that aspect of the bug squashing process, it's something they need to work on. Every customer who goes to the effort to send a film should get a note back thanking them for their diligence.
I have gotten a reply back when I send films in on bugs thanking me. But it's not every time. I don't think they have a no acknowledgement policy, I think it's a lack of a policy that requires that every customer must get a response.
The staff obviously reads these boards and works on the bugs because you see efforts addressing them in the next patch or two.
But posts like the one Mystic2 used to start this thread are next to worthless. You have to be specific. "On 2-3-2005 I was at A85 on Ozkansas, spawned to P-17, GV flipped over instantly, film attached".
I've sent in bug reports about the supply trucks at Axx on Map xxx running across the middle of the field and crashing into my plane on the runway. Skuzzy replied here on the board and they were fixed in 24 hours.