Come on Larry!!!! What these fellas need is a Baron.....

May look "wacky" from the outside, but very robust and simple. Similar to our R182. The main gear legs "plug" into the saddle, which sits at an angle to the perpendicular axis of the plane. The saddle has a gear on the end that mates to a rack that is hydraulically moved back and forth, spinning the saddle which raises and lowers the gear. If you watch it close the saddle just spins and the way the main gear legs are shaped and mounted makes it look goofy. But very simple and robust.

R182s don't have main gear doors and many 210s have had them removed. A MX item that some like and some don't.

A 36 with tip tanks may have more useful load than the 210
Osborne now offers the STC with a 4024 max takeoff weight for 550 equipped planes

I started flying C210's of various years early in my flying career. I haven't checked my logbook but I likely have several hundred hours in them. My opinion is that I wouldn't buy one now. Hands down the A36 is a better plane faster and cheaper to operate.

The gear is problematic. The gear doors are flimsy and one must not put the gear down while turning. Wait until you on final. I believe there was an AD at some point required the gear doors to be removed. This slowed the plane down even more, IIRC.

The T210s are a whole nother issue. I had a friend that crashed one twice. Once for a blown engine and second of a collapsed nose gear. I was afraid to get into one after than so I don't know much about them.

Uh, no. There is a guy who posts frequently on the red board who shared his nose gear saga of his T210. He was taxiing(!!) and when he hit a bump in the taxiway the steering collar on the nose gear fell apart. According to him it cost $20K to fix it. Not possible to spend that on my Bonanza for a nose gear issue. Plus the main gear saddles, bad design. Not as strong as they should be.

If I were to choose, it would be a Cessna 210 Centurion...

Uh, no. There is a guy who posts frequently on the red board who shared his nose gear saga of his T210. He was taxiing(!!) and when he hit a bump in the taxiway the steering collar on the nose gear fell apart. According to him it cost $20K to fix it. Not possible to spend that on my Bonanza for a nose gear issue. Plus the main gear saddles, bad design. Not as strong as they should be.

I’ve never heard that about not lowering the the gear when turning. But since I usually lower the gear at the numbers or at the IAF, it’s not something I’d do anyway.

We did have to repair a crack in the gear door and a leak in the hydraulic line—neither of which were a safety issue and the total cost of the repairs was less than $3,000. If you keep the actuators clean and inspect hoses carefully at annual, you should’t have any problems. We did have a CPA guy align the gear when we first bought it, so that may be one of the reasons we haven’t had any problems. We also had a problem with the nose gear unlock sensor. The gear were retracted but the lights weren’t lit. I think it was a sensor alignment issue. Not sure how this compares to other retractables, but it doesn’t seem wildly out of line.

Not true about the AD. There is an STC that allows you to replace your gear doors and many pre-1979 210s have done it. Ours haven’t been a problem for us in 500 hours of flying nor for the original owner.

According to the forums, there is a loss of 2-3 kts from removing the doors. If I was to buy an early model, the presence or absence of doors would not be a deciding factor. I’d lean toward buying one with the doors because they keep the dirt out and look nicer.

Wow - I just love it when people spew completely incorrect data about a plane they know nothing about.

There has never been an AD for removal of the gear doors in a 210 - that's just complete bunk. There is an STC to remove them, but there's lots of debate about the benefits of that modification.

The N and R model 210's did away with the gear doors and made it a much simpler system overall. Also note that very early 210s (in the 60s) had a different system that's not really comparable to later models.

There is a known issue with the nose gear and most intelligent owners have replaced a plastic piece there with a metal one and solved the issue (very cheap fix).

I owned a T210 for 6 years and over 1,000 hours and never had a single gear issue.

I also have 500+ hours in A36/F33s, but didn't maintain them so I can't make a personal statement about which one is cheaper to maintain. I think it depends on the airframe and systems installed (ie mine had ac/FIKI/radar/turbo so it's going to cost more than a straight A36).

Let's stick to the facts and actual, personal, experience here please guys.

Robert

Wow - I just love it when people spew completely incorrect data about a plane they know nothing about.

There has never been an AD for removal of the gear doors in a 210 - that's just complete bunk. There is an STC to remove them, but there's lots of debate about the benefits of that modification.

The N and R model 210's did away with the gear doors and made it a much simpler system overall. Also note that very early 210s (in the 60s) had a different system that's not really comparable to later models.

There is a known issue with the nose gear and most intelligent owners have replaced a plastic piece there with a metal one and solved the issue (very cheap fix).

I owned a T210 for 6 years and over 1,000 hours and never had a single gear issue.

I also have 500+ hours in A36/F33s, but didn't maintain them so I can't make a personal statement about which one is cheaper to maintain. I think it depends on the airframe and systems installed (ie mine had ac/FIKI/radar/turbo so it's going to cost more than a straight A36).

Let's stick to the facts and actual, personal, experience here please guys.

Robert

Rick knows nothing about airplanes and he sure as hell can't fish either.......

Don't say nuttin bad about the cirri

I would also add that landing gear parts are frightfully expensive. A couple of years ago, when I was still on the CPA board, there was a story of a guy with a cracked saddle, fitting, actuator or whatever in his 182RG.

14k is what Cessna wanted for the part, delivery time unknown. If I recall correctly, he managed to find one for 7k, and considered that a win. And that was just one side, and the problem is somewhat common on that gear system.

Best,
Rich[/quote]

Yeah...the saddle is frighteningly expensive. We had a cracked one in the R182 a couple years ago. $16k for a new one and $10k for a used one. But this plane also has nearly 7k hours on it and was part 135 for a good part of its life. So...still stand by the strength.

Chris

FWIW my Bonanza transition instructor told me not to put the Bonanza gear down while turning

Kevin

The problematic 210 gear was in the earlier planes (60s). Same guy that designed the gear on the dc4.

The door removal is the uvalde door mod. My uncle has had 210s of various years and its tough and tested at the farm. Even goes through mud.

Hi Chris,

That said, the T182RG is probably the best of Cessna light singles for travelling. Good legs, simple turbo, stout engine, reasonable load and outstanding short field performance. Ultra stable. If it's just 2 or 3 people, you won't find a better Cessna traveling machine.

If you don't need the turbo, the NA 182 RG has dang good useful load for a 4 place, and is an honest 4 plus bags.

If you need to go high and fast and haul a ton (literally), then it doesn't get any better than the T210. It's in a class by itself.

The "R" models are the ultimate expression of that. Truly a world class machine.

Best,
Rich