So lets talk. Lameness? alternatives ? Dedalos had a good Idea. Talk alternatives to the Gamey attittude here.
It's gamey because it is a game. A real CV did not carry an infinite amount of fighters in ten different flavors. There are many aspects of real life that are left out because of the un-fun factor. Horrible, firey death being the leading un-fun aspect of the reality of air combat. HTC does a generally good job keeping the fun in, and the un-fun out.
Personally, I agree with "send them to the front" crowd.
Alternatives? I think it was Greens that suggested to remove CV's from the base count for victory. Dedalos' shell game is another good idea, with no coding required.