We had H-3s on the USS Theodore Roosevelt too. The standard spot for the alert helo was at the end of the angle deck, the closest place to any flyby. (Flybys never happened duing launch or recovery). Depending on the alert status, their rotors were not always folded. Never did any receive damage to their tailwheel locks or to their rotor blades from flybys. As the Officer of the Deck, I would have received any damage reports.
Except for the "showmanship", supersonic flybys are just not that big of a deal. I saw alot while onboard the TR. The F-14s and F/A-18s would love to come around for flybys after a period of straffing and bombing a spar towed behind the ship (which was a big spectator sport). Also, the ship's Navigator was an ex-F-14 squadron commander and pilot. He loved to show off. (If there are any USN F-14 bubbas here - it was Snort.)
Last edited by HAL Pilot; 12th Aug 2003 at 13:15.