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Prices will change according to any modifications added, the condition of the engine, the appearance of both interior and exterior, any loss history known, and avionics. The base price of a Cessna 210 was found to be the 1960-era ones at an average cost of $36,000. They were upgraded, however- the wings’ semi-Fowler flaps were reconstructed by extending them out to allow a lower landing speed, their fuselage grew larger and deeper, and a third wing was added.
Cessna 210M Centurion
Hal Cabot feels the 210R’s pressurization system is the principal benefit. “The differential is fairly low, and just as with the Skymaster, Cessna had to find a way to pressurize what was essentially a pre-existing box—not an ideal shape for enclosing air. Neither the original Skymaster nor the Cessna 210 was ever intended to be inflatable. Pressurization was added later, and for that reason, the basic fuselage shape remains more rectangular than round. Accordingly, the P210’s system wasn’t nearly as stout as the Mirage’s 5.5 psi. Built from 1960 to 1986, the single-engine retract design still cuts a classic figure on the ramp.
Cessna T210L Turbo-Charged Centurion
I flight plan for 155 knots, hauling 90 gallons of fuel and burning 12.5 GPH lean of peak. We currently own a 1976 Cessna 210L—our second Cessna 210—purchased in 2016 for $105,000. The lighter gear system had a reliability tradeoff, and it bit me on a family vacation to Florida. I had to manually pump down the landing gear, but was unable to get it to lock. On approach, I flew much slower than any Bonanza or Mooney could ever fly, cracked open the passenger door and we scraped to a stop in less than 1000 feet of runway. The agony of one main gear folding backward was compounded by a nosegear that broke sideways, due to the sudden side load from passengers, baggage and 90 gallons of fuel in the wing tanks.
AVIONICS, VAC PUMPS
It simply starts to pressurize at the altitude selected by the pilot, maintains that cabin altitude as long as it can, and then maintains the max differential as the climb continues. WeightThe engine change adds from 7 to 35 pounds to the airplane, depending on the equipment on the original airplane. The airplane I flew had a post-mod empty weight of 2771 pounds, which Vitatoe said made it one of the heaviest as it had a number of options, including air conditioning and a radar pod.
Big news came in 1964, with the 210D, which received not only Continentals IO-520-A, but a 1700-hour TBO and another 100-pounds gross weight increase. The T210 Centurion is an airplane with incredible capabilities for a single-engine piston, but is not for the “faint of wallet.” I’ve flown my Centurion 3000 hours since January 2000. Stepping up from a Piper Dakota, I considered the 210, Bonanza and a Saratoga.
Both Precise Flight and Knots 2U offer electric-actuated speedbrakes that work well and are a good value. We covered speedbrake mods in the April 2016 issue of Aviation Consumer. Too, the historic nemesis of older Centurions—fatigue cracks in landing gear saddles—has apparently not abated completely. While a repetitive AD from 1976 addresses the issue, it still crops up from time to time in the SDRs. All 210s built from 1960 to 1969 live under the shadow of this problem. With luck, the cracks are found during annual inspections and are fixed in any airplanes now on the market.
Cessna 210R Centurion
The airplane has a 28-volt direct current electrical system powered by a belt-driven 60-amp alternator and a battery. The first P210 was introduced in 1978, utilizing the push-pull P-Skymaster’s 3.35 psi pressurization system. The finished P210N was about 180 pounds heavier than the T210N, one of the inevitable costs of pressurization.
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Cessna P210R Pressurized Centurion
Shortly after purchasing the 210, we installed new leather, a Plane Plastics interior and a WAAS-capable Garmin GNS480 with a Garmin MX20 multi-function display. Cessna has issued service bulletins dealing with cracks in the lower forward doorpost and strut fitting, which affects other Cessna singles as well; if any are found, a mod must be done. If not, repetitive inspections at 1000-hour intervals are called for. Not difficult to land, mind you-especially when theres some weight in the back-but it suffers its share of hard landings, swerves, runway overruns and gear collapses. Piper also has the non-pressurized, cabin-class Matrix-ne Malibu-but its not really been on the market long enough or in great enough numbers to make most prospective purchasers lists.
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Owner Reviews
A mod from Sierra Industries to remove the aft gear doors and modify the nosegear system is available as an option if a main gear door is damaged or cracked beyond repair. Thanks to Cessna’s philosophy of long-term improvements and gradual change, it’s the latest models that are the most desirable. The 210R—available in 310-hp nonturbo, 325-hp turbocharged, and 325-hp pressurized iterations—is high on the desirability scale, although also depressingly rare. Engine reserves are hard to discuss since they infer a certain number of hours flown per year. Its simpler to say that most owners seem to replace this engine at 750 to 1300 hours, though some will probably claim to have made it to TBO.
In terms of overall accidents-not just engine-failure accidents-twins generally have a better safety record than do high-performance, retractable singles, such that its possible to measure such things accurately. Performance and load-carrying of most twins is better than the big singles and thanks to escalating gas prices, twins are a relative bargain. But theres always a piper (the old piper, not the New Piper) to be paid and it comes in the form of higher operating costs for a twin, including gas, maintenance and insurance. The 210 will haul full fuel (90 gallons) and still have load left for six adults and some bags. With just four adults or two adults and four kids, and full fuel, there is enough load (and room) left over to take everyones bags and the kitchen sink.
Based on our extensive experience flying and owning 210s, it’s fair to say the airplane is stable in pitch and roll, although precise pitch trim management is a must. Get sloppy with speed management and hitting the target speeds for approach and landing will be very difficult, although a high gear extension speed helps slow down earlier than other models. Still, when flown correctly (and when equipped with a good autopilot) the Centurion is an excellent IFR platform—perhaps one of the best available among the competition. Before that, though, Cessna made minor improvements in 1961, bringing out the 210A, still powered by the IO-470-E, with a 1500-hour TBO. A slightly larger cabin, 100-Pounds gross weight increase and different engine (IO-470-S) resulted in the 210B.
Presently, only 172 examples remain active on the FAA registry, and only two were listed among the major aircraft classified sites surveyed at the time of this writing. This supports the chatter among owners that charter operators—particularly those in Alaska—snatch up many examples for their fleets. With only 14 listed for sale at the time of this writing, the fixed-gear variants appear to be in far higher demand than the 210s.
And if fixed gear is more your cup of tea, then both Piper and Cessna have other offerings making the cut. Also of interest is an IO-550 engine upgrade, which is generally done in conjunction with a prop upgrade. TruAtlantic—formerly Atlantic Aero—and Texas Skyways offer upgrades to the TCM 550-series engine. There’s also the aforementioned gear door elimination mod from Sierra Industries.
The full cantilever, laminar flow wing came along in 1967, and power was bumped up again in 1970 to 300 hp. The first turbocharged version was introduced in 1966, and there were scores of other, minor changes made throughout the ’70s. They jetted out from Massachusetts the following day, bought the airplane on the spot and have lived happily ever after. Today, they’re retired in Mexico, and they fly back and forth to Texas, Arizona and California on a regular basis. The Cessna Flyer Association is a proudly independent group of and for Cessna© owners and pilots.
Neither is the amount of time and effort required to develop a thorough understanding of the components involved and closely monitor the entire system’s health. Add increased insurance premiums to the list of retractable gear concerns, and for most, it would take a significant pay-off to absorb the costs involved. There’s also the gear door elimination mod from Sierra Industries (). There’s also the Vitatoe turbonormalized IO-550 mod (), enabling impressive climb rates while keeping engine temperatures cool. Thanks to limited elevator travel, the Centurion is tough to wrangle into a full-stall break, so there’s nothing particularly nasty about them. Since it’s one of the heaviest airplanes in its class, it has to be handled with respect, especially on landing.
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