My son is looking at a Cessna T210. What can you share about this kind of plane? Thanks, Bill

We owned a ‘68 for 14 years. Remarkably reliable plane with very few issues. A rivet broke free of the air box and was ingested by the turbo which caused the performance to diminish, but the plane still flew fine. The electric fuel pump wires came off the pump and, unbeknownst to us, the manual primer had been disconnected so attempts at manual priming caused fuel to pool and no start. Those were the only two issues during travel. We ran it well past TBO and did replace a few cylinders during that time but we called it “old reliable”. It had no Ice protection beyond a heated pitot tube which limited utility at times. But it could really haul a load and CG was virtually never an issue. We took it into some of smoother Idaho backcountry strips without difficulty.

What do you want to know specifically?

There are all sorts of articles about the T210 generally that he can read. And much knowledge at the Cessna Pilot Society and Cessna Pilots Assn. See https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all ... -centurion

The Aviation Consumer Used Aircraft Guide article is very good (pay for access): https://www.aviationconsumer.com/aircra ... nturion-2/

Sorry…the “submit button” was too close…fat fingered it!
I usually cruised around FL 180-200 with oxygen cannulas (conserving) on the family and a mask with microphone for me. It felt “normal” for my family of 5 because we were used to it, but I will say pressurization is a game changer. Still, the oxygen tank was large and with conserving systems it lasted a very long time even with many pax.
It was not a speed demon but did OK. Up to 175 high up burning 17.5/hr ROP. Usually more like 167 lower down at same burn. 152 LOP at 14gph (which the 520 liked best: cool CHT, perfectly balanced, no vibration). Well LOP gave it 147kts and 12gph.
With an 89gal tank, it had some serious endurance, usually much more than my young family cared for.
We moved to an Aerostar 601P, then a Superstar 700, and now a Mitsubishi, but I still miss the old 210 sometimes. Fun plane that did everything pretty well and could handle the crosswind landings we get in Wyoming without fuss. Above 45kts direct crosswind it couldn’t taxi straight so that was our operational limit.

I owned a '77 T210M model for several years and put > 900 hours on her. GREAT AIRPLANE, imho. I would love to own another one.

As Scott asked, what would you like to know about them?

I owned a 1974 T210L for ~ 8 years.

It was supposed to be an upgrade from my Piper Comanche 260B.

When we first got it, found the upper deck pressure had been set wrong so the turbo was venting out the relief valve. Fixed that and improved performance. It had an aftermarket intercooler.

Despite the higher power and turbo, it really wasn't much faster than the Piper, maybe 5 knots. My one and only in-flight emergency was when it suddenly used oil such that prop control was lost. A top overhaul followed.

Seemed to require a lot more maintenance than the Piper. $10K annuals were common.

Overall, not fantastic, didn't get much for the extra complexity over the Piper. Had I known what it would be like, I probably would have bought something else. Maybe my expectations were not realistic.

It was landed gear up in 2018 and scrapped after that, so it is no longer.

I replaced it with an MU2. That was a an upgrade!

Mike C.

Owned a '76 T210L for six years and 600 hours. Loved it. Carried a family of four on many long trips, including Alaska. Never had a weight, CG, baggage volume, or endurance issue. Easy loading, great passenger comfort and visibility, big fuel capacity. It flies just as well light or heavy. A 210 gives a lot of capability for the money.

Biggest dislike: Continental engine. No need to elaborate. The only chronic problem I had with the airplane was the turbo control system not holding upper deck pressure. Ours was STC-ed to a 310hp TSIO-520-R, which ran higher upper deck, which made the problem worse. Models with TSIO-520-H have less of a problem there.

Designed in the 1960s and 1970s, every 210 system and mechanism is overly complicated, which adds to maintenance costs. That means you should not buy a project, fixer-upper, or fresh restoration. You want one that's had good ongoing maintenance. I spent a lot fixing previous owners' deferred maintenance.

Starting with mid-'78 Cessna improved the landing gear system. I didn't have much trouble with ours, but it's important to understand how it works. Make sure the gear rigging has been checked in the past few years, or get it done at prepurchase.

Original Cessna interiors are not good. Plastic plastic plastic.

Go for it, I say.

IMO, the best single engine aircraft in that category and vintage. Loved it. Never had a major maintenance issue. Crossed the Atlantic several times both ways.

While flying the T210 I was a member of the CPA (Cessna Pilot Association) and attended many seminars with John Frank. The CPA published a great Newsletter and several very valuable Tech Notes on the Centurion and the other Cessna models. Unfortunately, John passed after a long illness - RIP; the CPA wound down and I believe it was acquired by the Cessna Owner’s Organization (?). But it wasn’t the same.

The CPA website is still up: https://cessna.org/
Not sure what it’s up to nowadays.


NB: Important to have a Graphic Engine Monitor, displaying all cylinders and TIT. At the time I had the Insight GEM 603. It came with a very helpful Pilot’s Guide. It is very important to read it and understand the theory of TIT, EGT & CHT and how the GEM works, also in order to diagnose all kind of problems and early symptoms. Here is the Insight Pilot’s Guide, a must read:

http://www.insightavionics.com/pdf%20files/GEM%20GUIDE.pdf

PS. If the T210 you’re looking at still has the main landing gear doors, better to remove them (there is a STC).

Grateful to everyone for your insights. Just looking for gotchas and apparently there aren't a lot.

Make sure you understand the spar AD. Just cost a friend of mine $40k and a year of downtime.

Good luck,
Don

And the main gear saddles and flimsy, ridiculously expensive nose gear steering.

IMO, the best single engine aircraft in that category and vintage. Loved it. Never had a major maintenance issue. Crossed the Atlantic several times both ways.

While flying the T210 I was a member of the CPA (Cessna Pilot Association) and attended many seminars with John Frank. The CPA published a great Newsletter and several very valuable Tech Notes on the Centurion and the other Cessna models. Unfortunately, John passed after a long illness - RIP; the CPA wound down and I believe it was acquired by the Cessna Owner’s Organization (?). But it wasn’t the same.

The CPA website is still up: https://cessna.org/
Not sure what it’s up to nowadays.


NB: Important to have a Graphic Engine Monitor, displaying all cylinders and TIT. At the time I had the Insight GEM 603. It came with a very helpful Pilot’s Guide. It is very important to read it and understand the theory of TIT, EGT & CHT and how the GEM works, also in order to diagnose all kind of problems and early symptoms. Here is the Insight Pilot’s Guide, a must read:

http://www.insightavionics.com/pdf%20files/GEM%20GUIDE.pdf

PS. If the T210 you’re looking at still has the main landing gear doors, better to remove them (there is a STC).

My T210L had been on its belly 3 times before I owned it. At the last one, they did the gear door STC. I never had a problem with it. The plane had a gear up about 10 years after I sold it, and that was the last flight it ever made. So that's 4 gear ups during its life, if you are counting. about one every 10 years or so.

The gear door removal STC leaves most of the gear door complexity behind, so you still suffer some of that regardless. As with almost all airplanes with bad gear reputations, maintenance is the key to good service life.

I would not change the plane. If it has gear doors, keep them. If it doesn't, stay that way, too. But keep it well maintained.

Mike C.

Get this 210 buyers guide and read - well worth the money. I did before I bought my P210.

https://cessna.org/shop/books/buyers-gu ... d-edition/

Garth

Jay, you are probably right, in all these years attending CPA seminars I didn't pick on that as all my three T210 did not have gear doors. And never had a problem with that. One less system to adjust, fine tune or worry about.

Here is a good Centurion history summary from [former] CPA tech Steve Ells:
https://www.cessnaflyer.org/cessna-singles/cessna-210/item/996-cessna-210-king-of-the-singles.html