The Cessna 210 Centurion is a six-seat, high-performance, retractable-gear, single-engine, high-winggeneral aviation aircraft which was first flown in January 1957 and produced by Cessna until 1986.
Design and development
The early Cessna 210 had four seats with a Continental IO-470 engine of. It was essentially a Cessna 182B to which was added a retractable landing gear, swept tail, and a new wing. In 1961 the fuselage and wing were completely redesigned – the fuselage was made wider and deeper, and a third side window was added. The wing planform remained the same, but the semi-Fowler flaps were extended outboard, from Wing Station 100 to Wing Station 122, which allowed a lower landing speed with tapered tubular steel struts of greater length. This allowed the tires to be nested farther to the rear of the fuselage, making room for the full-size rear seats. In 1979 the 210N model eliminated the folding doors which previously covered the two retracted main wheels. The tubular spring struts retract into shallow channels along the bottom of the fuselage and the wheels fit snugly in closed depressions on the underside of the fuselage. Some models featured de-icing boots as an option. The aircraft was offered in a normally aspirated version, designated the model 210, as well as the turbochargedT210 and the pressurizedP210 versions. The Centurion II was an option introduced in 1970 with improved avionics, and was available in both normally aspirated and turbocharged versions On 21 May 2012 the airworthiness authority responsible for the design, the US Federal Aviation Administration, issued an emergency Airworthiness Directive requiring 3,665 of the cantilever wing Cessna 210s to be inspected for cracks in the spar cap, wing spar and wing. Aircraft with more than 10,000 hours of airframe time were grounded immediately pending a visual inspection. On 16 May 2019, a Cessna Model T210M airplane suffered an in-flight separation of the right wing. Preliminary investigations found cracking of the wing-spar carry-thru where fatigue began from a small corrosion pit on the lower surface of the carry-thru. Textron published a Mandatory Service Letter on June 24, 2019 to provide instructions for a detailed visual inspection of the wing carry-thru spar. The FAA issued an Airworthiness Directive on 21 February 2020 mandating eddy current inspections of the carry-thru spar lower cap, corrective action if necessary, application of a protective coating and corrosion inhibiting compound, and reporting the inspection results to the FAA. Since it shared a common carry-thru design, the Cessna 177 Cardinal also received a similar Mandatory Service Letter and an airworthiness concern from the FAA.
Modifications
There are a wide range of modifications available for the Cessna 210, including:
Aeronautical Engineers Australia has developed a life extension package for 210s suffering from wing spar carry-through beam corrosion.
Crownair Aviation developed a “Centurion Edition” T210, which is a remanufactured aircraft introduced in November 2008 that features a glass cockpit and new engine along with other minor refinements.>
Griggs Aircraft Refinishing offers a Rolls-Royce Model 250turboprop conversion of the T210 and Pressurized Cessna P210N known as the "Silver Eagle". This conversion was previously offered by O&N Aircraft
Riley Rocket – Restoration and addition of intercooler to Continental TSIO-520 models to boost from.
Vitatoe Aviation offers the TN550 conversion which uses a Continental IO-550P engine with an IO-520 turbocharger with dual intercoolers and a larger alternator.
Variants
The Cessna 210 was manufactured in 26 model variants. The C210, C210A-D, the Centurion C210E-H&J, Turbo Centurion T210F-H&J, the Centurion II C210K-N&R, the Turbo Centurion II T210K-N&R and the P210N&R. The 210N, T210N, and P210N versions were produced in the greatest quantity. The rarest and most expensive models were the T210R and P210R, which were produced only in small quantities in 1985-86. Several modifications and optional fittings are also available including different engine installations, wingtip tanks, speed brakes, STOL kits and gear door modifications. The early strut-winged Cessna 210B was developed into a fixed-gear aircraft known as the Cessna 205. This spawned an entirely new family of Cessna aircraft including the 206 and the eight-seat 207. ;210 ;210A ;210B ;210C ;210D Centurion ;210E Centurion ;210F Centurion / Turbo Centurion ;210G Centurion / Turbo Centurion ;210H Centurion / Turbo Centurion ;210J Centurion / Turbo Centurion ;210K Centurion / Turbo Centurion ;210M Centurion / Turbo Centurion ;210N Centurion / Turbo Centurion ;P210R Pressurized Centurion ;Riley Turbine P-210
Operators
Civil
The Cessna 210 is widely used by flight training schools, private operators, air taxi and commercial charter, and companies.
On 12 July 1968, Leonard Bendicks hijacked a Cessna 210 from Key West, Florida, to Cuba. He was deported to the US in September 1968. On 4 March 1971, he was sentenced to 10 years for kidnapping.
On 9 August 1981, a Cessna 210M, VH-MDX crashed around the Barrington Tops National Park in New South Wales, killing all 5 on board. It is the only post-World War II incident in Australia in which the aircraft remains missing. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau reports mentions icing, violent weather, and instrument failure.
