On Wednesday, March 17, 2021 at 10:36:51 AM UTC-4, Ron Branham wrote:
On Tuesday, March 16, 2021 at 1:51:11 PM UTC-5, John Good wrote:
At around 12:54 today, Thomas Johnson (V12 - MiniNumbus) was injured in a takeoff groundloop accident. He was airlifted to an Orlando hospital, where he'll be met by his wife.

This is what happened to Tom Johnson. V12. One of our club members is Tom’s partner in the Mini-Nimbus. He posted this on our email site as we are all anxious to hear about Tom’s status.

“V12 has a CG hook which is less directionally stable during the initial takeoff. Apparently the left wing dropped to the ground maybe due to propwash from the towplane. The left wingtip on the ground turned the glider about 30 degrees to the East where it departed the runway, crossed the service road and collided with a truck that one of the other contestants had parked next to the runway in violation of contest procedures. The glider submarined the body of the truck.”
Please keep Tom in your prayers a quick recovery, and full recovery.

Ron Branham

Very unfortunate; does the mini Nim have tail skid or wheel?
The PIK20E has a steerable tailwheel but authority is limited due to the spring coupling.
It has suffered numerous serious ground loops.
On a few occasions I have been unable to stop the swing before stopping; braking will
exacerbate the swing. One has to be very cautious about steering off the runway
as is expected at club sites.
John F