Commander Test Flight #4

More touch-and-go practice. These images might look just like the ones from yesterday, but these were actually much better landings. As before, the Commander is very stable and easy to handle so lining up on the center of the runway has not been an issue:

Unlike yesterday and earlier attempts, I started a good bit higher, probably 300-400 feet higher before beginning the approach. That allowed me to maintain a steady descent at 80 knots all the way to the runway on idle. Earlier attempts began lower, which required me to either add power and pull back a bit to keep from landing short, and the later approach tended to reduce my airspeed, sometimes almost to the stall limit. This time I just flew to the runway and flared just a bit at the very end:
Everything was very smooth, although on the last landing I inadvertently pulled up a bit after putting the nose wheel down and at 80 knots or close to it, that resulted in a little bunny-hop, where the plane came up off the ground (all three wheels) for a moment, but settled back down quickly so while embarrassing, it wasn't a problem or really dangerous or anything.

Next test flight will involve cruising to another airport to see how she trims out at speed and altitude, maybe even play with the GPS and Autopilot some. I'll need to have those figured out before I head back to Dalton.