Just how rough is a shuttle reentry? I've read a lot of reports in the
press over the years about "buffeting" during reentry, but I've never heard
any crews mention it. I've also never noticed any buffeting on onboard
videos shot during reentry. It always looks smooth as silk until the
shuttle gets under 30,000ft or so, where it sometimes encounters normal
clear air turbulence.

In the old capsule days I know buffeting was sometimes a problem, but is
this still true for the shuttle? I believe it was an early design concern,
but in reality is it less of a factor than originally expected?