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Nonetheless, its reasonable to assume that hours estimates for both twins and singles are equally suspect so the relationship may very well be valid. Eventually, most owners advancing through the ranks will confront the dilemma of whether to step up to a twin from a high-performance single. But the fact is, airplane ownership has always been a step-up game. Start out simple and cheap-a Cessna 172 or Archer-and move up to something sleek and fast. A cruise speed is the speed of a plane in relation to the air masses surrounding it. If we wanted to figure out how fast the plane is moving in relation to earth we would have to take into account the factor of wind.
Airliners Stop 300 Feet Apart At DCA
The 1964 model 210D introduced a 285 hp (213 kW) engine and two small child seats, set into the cavity that contained the mainwheels aft of the passengers. If you’re looking to travel in style above the weather in pressurized comfort, it would very hard to beat a Vitatoe-modified P210. If I had the need and the cash, I’d have a Vitatoe-modified P210 to fly my Audrey to and fro in the most comfortable, high-flying Cessna single ever built. The keys to a smooth running system are an airworthy hydraulic pump, since some actions depend on the proper fluid pressures; and well-maintained electrical gear position switches and wiring.
Improving On A Good Thing - Plane & Pilot
Improving On A Good Thing.
Posted: Sat, 06 Feb 2016 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Lightspeed Delta Zulu: Good Utility, Reliability
It’s not difficult to land, mind you—especially when there’s some weight in the back—but it suffers its share of hard landings, swerves, runway overruns and gear collapses. Again, if trimmed on speed, the 210 can be landed with no undue strain. You’ll find Centurions sporting all kinds of panels—from the latest glass makeovers to original round-gauge flight instruments and ARC/Cessna radios. For models not yet upgraded with new autopilots, pay close attention to the performance of the older systems during the prepurchase period. This includes altitude hold and instrument approach capability.
Cessna 210H Centurion
Weighing a twin against a heavy single should first and foremost be an economic decision. The rule of thumb that a twin costs two-and-half times as much to operate as a single seems to hold remarkably true. All aircraft owners tend to underestimate true operating costs, either due to pie-in-the-sky optimism or because they just dont accurately track-or dont want to know-what they spend.
Cessna T210G Turbo-Charged Centurion
Flown 150 hours a year, the typical twin can consume $8000 worth of gas alone. Add up everything and your annual expenditure can easily exceed $30,000 in actual cash outlays, even in a year when engines dont come due. Buyers should check the saddles and replacement times on these aircraft. Later, 1968 and 1969 models came with improved saddles as original equipment, but they must be inspected at 1200 hours and annually thereafter and still run the risk of eventual cracking.
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. The earliest models of the 206 and 210 had significant overlap, visually and in terms of their capabilities. The two types diverged over time, but they share several fundamental similarities. Both used Cessna’s familiar high-wing, all-metal airframe design from the beginning. Both also offered similar dimensions and load-carrying capabilities, and both utilized six-cylinder Continental engines, with a “T” prefix indicating the presence of a turbocharger on models like the T206 and T210. The two types differed primarily in their landing gear, wings, and doors.
Cessna P210R Pressurized Centurion
It featured a 325-hp version of the N model’s, 310-hp, TSIO-520 Continental, flying behind twin intercoolers and rated for a 1600-hour TBO. The horizontal stabilizer offered a wider elevator to lend more pitch response to what had been a ponderous regime, and the wing sported three feet more span to improve climb. Cessna’s specs suggest the R model ascended at 1150 fpm—200 fpm better than the N Centurions. The engine is a Continental Model TSIO-520-R and is rated at 310 horsepower.
Cessna T210J Turbo-Charged Centurion
The 210 has the capability to haul a lot and go a long way, plus the ability to get over the mountains—even without a turbo. Whatever would fit in the car would fit in the 210 and we would always be within weight and balance limits. Annual inspections (if the engine doesn’t have issues) run about $5000. This is a complex airplane and there will always be some squawks.
Cessna T210F Turbo-Charged Centurion
The 210 series generally matches other two-tank airplanes with regard to accidents after running a tank dry. Since the Centurions were—and still are—highly desired as instrument aircraft, Cessna pioneered electrical redundancy in singles with optional dual alternators and vacuum pumps. When it’s time to return to Earth, the P210R is, after all, a big-wing Cessna, and that means those huge flaps are available to give the airplane near-Skylane short field performance. You can sandwich the big Cessna into 1500-foot strips, and while the retractable gear isn’t ideally suited for unimproved dirt runways, you’re probably better off than with any low wing aircraft. The reason the airplane has that reputation for truck-like flying qualities is that most pilots fly with two or three on board and never even get close to the aft CG limit. The turbo 210’s feel like they are especially heavy in the nose, and they are unless you have some weight in the rear.
If you aren’t cruising at least 180 to 185 knots true at 10,000 feet then something is wrong. At 15,000 feet you’ll get 193 to 195 knots true, at 18,000 feet you’ll get 200 to 205 knots true and up at 22,000 you get 215 knots true—all burning 16 GPH and running cool as an Eskimo’s nose. With 89-gallon standard tanks (there is an STC for more) you can fly for a lot of miles before having to fill up again. These are not cheap airplanes to maintain, but they can be reasonable compared with other complex aircraft of this vintage. I figure between $5000 to $8000 per year for maintenance and my bird is flown between 150 to 200 hours per year.
Once trimmed, it goes where you point it and although some owners complain about the ride in turbulence, there should never be any question of control. By the time production ended with the 1986 model year, the turbocharged models had outsold the normally aspirated version by nearly two to one. Cessna’s project engineer on the P-210 program, Phillip Hedrick, had his work cut out for him in attempting to sandwich a larger capacity turbo under the bonnet of the 210. The bigger turbo was needed to provide enough bleed air to pump up the cabin while not restricting the airplane’s climb or cruise performance. To help seal the cabin, the pilot’s door was fitted with multiple, heavy duty pins and the windows were rounded and reduced in size. Vapor and excess fuel from the engine-driven fuel pump and fuel/air control unit are returned by way of the selector valve to the reservoir tank of the wing fuel tank system being used.
Inside, the only difference that shows immediately is that the high side of the auxiliary fuel pump switch is no longer spring-loaded to off. Vitatoe explained that if the engine-driven fuel pump gives up the ghost, it’s necessary to turn on the high side of the aux pump. Having to physically hold the switch on made no sense, thus the spring was removed. An incidental benefit is that the IO-550 has a 2000-hour TBO as opposed to 1400 or 1600 hours for the TSIO-520s used in the stock P210s. The installationOver the course of two-and-a-half years, they came up with an installation that mated with the existing Inconel exhaust system used by Cessna. They then put the induction system on top of the engine where it would be in a cooler operating environment and used the throttle body from a TSIO-550 engine.
I recommend doing this since one can become quite complacent in this airplane. Over the last four years Ive had the airplanes interior and exterior completely redone, with a custom-designed interior by Bravo Three of Austin, Texas, and paint by A&A Airplane Refinishers in Big Springs, Texas. Owners report that the two big trouble areas are alternators and vacuum pumps.
Other than a greater need for rudder, handling is pure Cessna P210—well-behaved and harmonized in all axes throughout the envelope, but heavy. The airplane is utterly predictable and will handle impressive crosswinds. The controls are effective—it just requires effort to displace them.
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