Dennis,
I was flying today and experienced the "tick". It happend on the 3rd flight just as I was entering the 3 inside loops. I experienced it once before about 3 weeks ago just as the plane was launched and the wheels broke ground. I'm going to update my v3.161 controllers. But I'm still keeping my v3.13 controller a v3.13 till I can do another comparison. With the weather closing in on us that might not happen. Here is what is listed in the Phoenix rev history:
Auto-Rotate mode now works in 'Heli-Fixed' (not governor) mode
Auto-Rotate engage is now a quicker and more linear ramp
ICE Controllers could (incorrectly) quickly ramp to full throttle if in governor mode
Occasional motor 'tick' while running has been removed
Improved ability to run some outrunner-style motors, especially very high-inductance motors
I think the statement about improved ability might have fixed my problems.
Edit: I can get the v3.18 software to work on my Vista machine when I right click on the desktop icon and run as adminstrator. I've never had to do that before. I have 3 CC-45 controllers 1 each with v3.13/2.11, v3.16/2.161, and v3.18/2.18. Maybe I can do some indoor testing Monday. I'll let you know. We know that v3.16/2.161 version is not what we want.