i was reading posts in the forums on the IL2 homepage and i came across a topic about advanced BIOS features.   through the advanced bios features you can access Avanced Chipset Features, which will allow you to change your AGP aperature settings. 

your AGP aperature ( from how i understand it ) lets you tell the system how much system ram your drivers will use to run graphics accelleration.

my settings were originally set at 128mb,  the next option up was 256mb, since i have 512mb total i figured it wouldn't hurt to try.         my fps jumped.   at the default airport Seattle Int'l , i used to get 7-10fps, now i get 18-25fps.  25+ in less busy areas ( i have my target framerate set at 30)  so far, i haven't found any negative effects on my system.

you access the advanced features by entering BIOS settings on startup.  when you have the CMOS screen up   type  CTRL+F1,   then screen will flash off then back on, with a few more options.

the post i read said the features were on Gigabyte motherboards, i don't know if it's the same for all brands.   

has anyone else heard anything about this?

I use a gigabyte motherboard but i don't need to press ctrl+F1 in  the bios, because i have all the advanced settings already there for me to change.

When you turn your comp on press, for me it is del, but for others it can be different.  Just press which ever button is for your bios.  Then find a setting for aperture and change it around.  Remember bigger does not mean better for aperture size.  You need to tweak it to find the best setting for you. 

I use 128Mb aperture, i find that is best for me.

here's the link to the forum page, it's the third post down.   http://ubbxforums.ubi.com/6/ubb.x?a=tpc&s=400102&f=49310655&m=314103891

if you don't know how to access your BIOS settings, i would suggest finding out more about how and what they do before you tinker with them.  some changes can have catastrophic effects.