Welcome TRF.
What I would say is keep it simple and dont do something just because you can do it (if that makes sense?)
Totally agree on the flash front. Flash can make some websites very attractive when used to its full potential. I think for what you need it for I would stick to the html and work it from there.
As already said the load time and intro animation takes too long and i would say 90-95% of your visitors with leave before its finished, if they dont and they hang around the content they see must be exactly what they want otherwise you’ll lose them.
By taking this out of the mix you are more likely to show more info to more people and as a result convert more.
Also, by saying that your html version is ‘plain’ puts a negative slant on it which will transfer into your users mindset when reading and if they decide to click it.
There is a lot of information on the homepage, have you thought of maybe splitting this up and distributing it a little better? This way, you can have specific pages for specific topics and be able to expand on them without cluttering the page.
I hope this help and I think the domain name is excellent. :hattip: