Yeah I've been waiting for someone to bring that up: the weight of the aircraft shouldn't have any affect on the amount of turbulence it creates. Turb is when air passes over an object and gets sheared off in a different direction.
The Reynold's number I remember from college aero classes didn't include weight.
But then again a heavier jet wouldn't bounce around as much ... maybe by not bouncing around it causes more of a wake? Dunno.
"the weight of the aircraft shouldn't have any affect on the amount of turbulence it creates. Turb is when air passes over an object and gets sheared off in a different direction." Actually, the heavier the plane is, and the slower it is going, the bigger the wake disturbance.
Boats in water are a direct parallel. The Queen Mary makes a bigger wake than than a catamaran. And what happens to the wake on your bass boat when you slow down entering harbor? The amplitude gets higher...because it has to move the same amount of water (displaced by weight, which remains constant) in less time.