SC Nats Day 5 quick report

The task today was a MAT with a required last turnpoint about 15 miles
to the north. Did I tell you I HATE MAT tasks? The weather was windy
(20kt + out of the southwest) with some clouds in the north of the
task area.

As it turned out, the day was sharply divided into a REALLY GOOD first
half and a REALLY CRAPPY second half. Most pilots elected to go for
the clouds to the north (downwind), and when we got to the clouds it
was WONDERFUL - had to watch the altimeter closely to avoid an
airspace penalty for busting 17,500, and it was pedal to the metal all
the way. I was running about 95-100mph average (dry!) all the way out
to a turpoint some 150 miles downwind. However, the run back upwind
became a nightmare for many pilots as the front (west) ridge was not
working at all (wave suppression??) and there were many landouts. In
the top of the scoresheet, MP, TT, KS, and OO all landed out.

TA