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DESTINATION: CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED
LIFE IN THE FAST PLANE
THE CESSNA 210
cessnaflyer.org SEPT 2013
VOL 10 ISSUE 09
 The complex 210 definitely has its admirers.
The Cessna 210, or Each aircraft offered
Centurion, was first different benefits related
created in the late to speed, altitude, load-
1950s and entered the carrying capability and
marketplace as a 1960 passenger comfort.
year model aircraft. A All three versions
total of 9,304 C210s were certified under
were built according Part 23 and are basi-
to Doug Miller, archi- cally built around the
vist and historian for same airframe; however,
Cessna Aircraft Co. the P210 is structurally
At press time, there significantly different.
were just under 5,000 The normally aspi-
Cessna 210s listed in the FAA registra- rated 210 and the T210 are almost
tion database; many others are still in use exactly the same, except for different
throughout the world. engines—and thus some system differ-
The aircraft was eventually available ences which significantly alter perfor-
in three different versions: normally aspi- mance and therefore require different
rated (C210), turbocharged (T210), and operational procedures.
turbocharged and pressurized (P210). Many of the basic characteristics
Photo: Paul Bowen

C ES S NA F LYE R 45 SEPTEMBER 2013

 Photo: Paul Bowen
All three versions were certified
under Part 23 and are basically
built around the same airframe.

of these aircraft are the same, though, aircraft and a 400-pound gross weight
including preflight and in-flight handling increase to 3,800 pounds. One of the
characteristics. changes that came with the K model was
the tapered tubular steel landing gear legs
Models with a six-inch wider stance. The gear
The original 210 had four seats and a legs may look fragile, but they aren’t.
normally aspirated 260 hp engine. It was The 210L arrived in 1972 with a 28
essentially a C182, wing struts included, volt electrical system, and in 1975 the
with retractable gear. three-bladed propeller became stan-
The first turbocharged Centurion dard. Flap gap seals in 1976 enhanced
sold was the 1966 T210F powered by a climb performance and a key instrument
Continental TSIO-520C engine. Built-in change occurred: the airspeed indicator
oxygen was standard— and necessary, as was changed to knots from mph.
the specifications claimed a 31,300-foot The M model of 1977 ushered in the
service ceiling. 310 hp TSIO-520R engine for the turbo-
In 1967, the Cessna 210G arrived with charged airplanes, which reduced takeoff
a laminar flow cantilever wing replacing distances and provided increased climb
the strut-braced wing, but it was still a rates. The engine has a five-minute limit on
four-plus-two aircraft. the 310 hp, which then must be reduced
The introduction of the 210K in 1970 to 285 hp maximum continuous power.
brought to market the full-sized six-seat The pressurized 210 was introduced in

C ES S NA F LYE R 46 SEPTEMBER 2013

 Photo: Paul Bowen
1978 as the P210N. It was powered by a separate fuel vapor return lines to return
Continental TSIO-520P putting out 310 the vapor to each fuel tank.
hp at takeoff, and like the other turbo-
charged 210s was limited to 285 hp after A late-season redesign
five minutes. Records indicated that a The economy was in a spin during the
total of 851 P210s had been built when mid-1980s and sales of new aircraft skid-
production ceased. ded to a halt. This gave Cessna time to
redesign the 210 for the 1985 release of
Gear doors and other changes the R model, which was sold new as the
The economy was in In 1979, the main landing gear doors 1985 and 1986 models.
were removed from the Centurions. Many There were many changes in the ‘85
a spin during the mid- of the earlier Centurions had their main model; one of the most significant was an
1980s and sales of new gear doors removed by owners with a modi-
fication called the Uvalde gear door mod.
enlarged and strengthened tail for the air-
craft. This was accomplished in a variety
aircraft skidded to a halt. My own aircraft has the gear door of ways, including making the horizontal
mod, which I had performed immediately stabilizer a full three feet wider.
This gave Cessna time to following an IFR flight where I could The wingspan was increased to 38 feet,
not get a green gear-down light. Because 10 inches and the gear extension speed
redesign the 210 for the I didn’t have gear mirrors at that time, I and flap speed were raised. The bottom
couldn’t see the position of my wheels, line is that the 1985/1986 210R is a
1985 release. which made it a most unpleasant event. very different airplane than its predeces-
(The value of gear mirrors was instantly sors—and they are highly prized by their
implanted into my brain on that flight.) owners. Cessna delivered its last three
In 1982, there was a major change in Centurions in 1987 as 1986-year models.
the fuel system for 210s. Cessna accom-
plished this by removing the dual fuel Operating a 210
reservoir tanks and installing a single res- By any definition, Centurion aircraft
ervoir tank. This allowed the pilot to select are complex airplanes. Original systems
Left, Right, or Both fuel tanks in flight. are in some cases very complex and
Obviously, being able to select both fuel perhaps not thoroughly explained in the
tanks reduced the pilot’s workload. owner’s manual, POH or airplane flight
Other fuel system changes included manual. As time has passed and technol-

C ES S NA F LYE R 48 SEPTEMBER 2013

ogy has changed, we now see extensively

Photo: CFA Staff

updated avionics and various other
modifications made to each aircraft that
complicate the situation even more.
The 210 is a checklist airplane. It is
very important to your safety that you
ensure the preflight and flight operations
checklists you use are representative of
the actual aircraft you are operating;
one checklist will not fit all! Seemingly
identical aircraft are probably not, and a
switch in the wrong position or a circuit
breaker located in a different position
can cause harm to the aircraft or you and
your passengers.
In my opinion, the Centurion is a very
safe, comfortable, and easy aircraft to

Photo: CFA Staff

The 210 is a checklist air-
plane. It is very important
to your safety that you
ensure the preflight and
flight operations checklists
you use are representative
of the actual aircraft you
are operating.

Photo: CFA Staff

C ES S NA F LYE R 51 SEPTEMBER 2013
 fly if you have been well trained and are
proficient in it. Unfortunately, it is an air-
craft that has a less-than-admirable safe-
ty record, with over 30 reported in-flight
airframe failures. It should be noted that
this aircraft is capable of staying together
at 5.7 gs—150 percent of its 3.8 g rating.
Fuel management has also historically
been a problem and continues to be a
leading cause of Centurion accidents,
despite it being a widely known issue
with the aircraft.

For more information

If you would like to do some interest-
ing research on Centurions, you can
go to the FAA website and pull up the
TCDS on the entire 210 series. The
details are contained in a single 45-page
PDF file.
The TCDS files are a treasure trove of
information for those who want to know
exact details, especially limitations, about
a specific make and model. The informa-
tion is abundant, right down to the serial
number of the airplane.

This article was excerpted from “Flying

the Cessna 210: The Secrets Unlocked”
by Chuck McGill.

Chuck McGill has been teaching for over

30 years and has logged over 12,000
hours in more than different 80 makes
and models of General Aviation aircraft.
He is a six-time Master CFI, and in
2009 was honored as CFI of the Year,
FAA Western Pacific Region. He holds a
Commercial certificate for ASEL, ASES,
MEL, Instrument Airplane, as well as
his CFI and CFII. McGill has bachelor’s
and master’s degrees in business and is a
retired Lieutenant Colonel, United States
Marine Corps.
Cessna T210 G, H and J Turbo Centurion
SPECIFICATIONS
Horsepower: 285 TAKEOFF Resources
Top Speed: 203 knots Ground Roll: 800 feet FAA Type Certificate Data Sheets
Cruise Speed: 194 knots Over 50-foot obstacle: 1,365 feet faa.gov
Stall Speed (dirty): 55 knots Rate of Climb: 1,115 fpm At the home page on the far right side
Gross Weight: 3,400 pounds Ceiling: 30,200 feet under “Top Requests” is a link for Type
Empty Weight: 2,050 pounds LANDING Certificate Data Sheets (TCDS).
Fuel Capacity: 89 gallons Ground Roll: 625 feet
Range: 739 nm Over 50-foot obstacle: 1,355 feet
“Flying the Cessna 210:
The Secrets Unlocked”
by Chuck McGill
http://safeflightintl.com/
flyingthecessna210.html

C ES S NA F LYE R 52 SEPTEMBER 2013