Can moving carriers leave patrolling aircraft behind?

Like all patrolling aircraft units, aircraft flying off of an in-game aircraft carrier can effectively patrol indefinitely under most circumstances. However, if the carrier is moving, and a patrolling aircraft unit falls behind the carrier to the limit of the aircraft unit's range, it will "snap back" to the carrier, land and refuel.

If you keep advancing the patrolling aircraft unit ahead of the carrier (within its patrol arc), you can keep the same aircraft unit patrolling in advance of the carrier without landing.

That's good. I just wanted to make sure that the aircraft wouldn't just crash or something.

Glad to help.

Most of what I know about in-game aircraft carrier operations, I learned the hard way -- from actually using them extensively in games played on the 50-player Pacific map.

Free advice regarding in-game carriers: they still have a few unresolved, but mostly known bugs. Aircraft units flying off carriers occasionally disappear and go missing. Under NO circumstances should you ever add or remove any of the escort naval units from an aircraft carrier's task group (a.k.a. "stack") while aircraft units from the carrier are in flight -- this is one of the known circumstances where carrier-based aircraft go *poof* and magically disappear.

Very good to know, thanks.