Stated wish list:
Water terrain with Carrier for simulation
Aircraft takeoffs and landings on a carrier (no active fields or airspawns)
Combat discouraged
Offline 'practice mode'
Configured to run the same on multiple machines
I'd recommend the following:
Offline, no interruptions or distractions, avoids update interruptions & maintenance.
Custom 512 water terrain, contact the AvA Staff (PM me) or SEA team (2-3 hours total work, max.)
One Carrier group
Two waypoints 420 miles apart, Carrier repeats track every 24 hours if left unattended.
Settings file to disable ammo in guns, bombs & rockets. Only active field to be one CV.
Did I miss anything?
Getting funds for the hardware will be your biggest problem. Manufactures might participate. They've been know to donate prizes to player conventions.