In 1987 I did a short cruise on the Nimitz. The Nimitz was just going from San Diego to Seattle with no air wing on board. There were just a few helicopters to shuttle journalists once we got near Seattle. It was also a Tiger cruise so they did an airshow out at sea. Probably the high point of the show was an F-14 doing a Supersonic pass over the ship at low alttitude. I could see the F-14 approaching with vapor clouds forming off the wings. It got bigger real fast but no sound until it passed overhead and then BOOM!! I could definitely feel that.
I also remember being on the Enterprise between cycles so they parked my H-46 right in front of the Island during a launch cycle. At that time the aircraft on the carrier included the A6, EA6b, A7, S3 and F-14. When most of the Jets launched they would shoot down the cat, get to the end of the deck and sink a little before climbing out. The F-14 was different. When it went to full power just before the cat shot you could feel the 90,000 ton carrier shaking. When it launched there was no sinking at the end of the deck it just went up. It was amazing to watch, hear and feel.