Please see the most recent updates in the "Where did the .com name go?" thread. Posts number 16 and 17.
Please see this thread for updates. Update Thread
SOH ADMINISTRATIONSorry PJ, i've heard a good bit about this type of CFS2 problem lately with the Vista and Win 7 users and i'm just as stumped as you. Been playing around with this sim since 2002, gone through about 3 computers with countless hardware upgrades between them, started with Windows 98 to present day WinXP and Win 7, and i've never had this flickering or no-show 2D panel problem happen even once.
Like olaf said, its gotta be a driver thing...or maybe just something as simple as tweaking your video settings. And not knowing your computer or having first-hand knowledge of this problem i have no idea what combination of settings will fix this.