The point is that inserting into a flat file means rewriting the entire file each time, unless you store updates and do them in groups. Imagine, if your 2mb flat file grows by 4 bytes each iteration, you're moving around 2mb of data each time you try to add 4 bytes. That's a 2,000,000 bytes of data reading and rewriting for each 4 byte insertion. Speed has got to mean something.

I think your solution may be a good one. If building up the dataset is a one-time deal, do it in a database, and then transfer the completed product to a flat file where it can be read quickly.