The Cessna 210 Centurion is a six-seat, high-performance, retractable-gear, single-engined, high-wing general-aviation light aircraft. First flown in January 1957, it was produced by Cessna until 1986.

Development

The early Cessna 210 (210 and 210A) had four seats with a Continental IO-470 engine of 260 hp. 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; constant 64 in chord from centerline to 100 in out, then straight taper to 44 in chord at 208 in from centerline, but the semi-Fowler flaps (slotted, rear-moving) were extended outboard, from wing station 100 to Wing station 122, which allowed a lower landing speed. FAA certification regulations state that a single-engined aircraft must have a flaps-down, power-off stall speed no greater than 70 mph. To compensate for the reduced aileron span, the aileron profile was changed and its chord enlarged. The 1964 model 210D introduced a 285 hp engine and two small child seats, set into the cavity that contained the mainwheels aft of the passengers. In 1967, the model 210G introduced a cantilever wing replacing the strut-braced wing. Its planform changed to a constant taper from root chord to tip chord. In 1970, the 210K became the first full six-seat model. This was achieved by replacing the flat leaf springs used for the retractable main landing gear struts (undercarriage) 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-sized rear seats. The Centurion II was an option introduced in 1970 with improved avionics, and was available in both normally aspirated and turbocharged versions (Turbo Centurion II) 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 deicing boots as an option.

Design

The aircraft was offered in a normally aspirated version, the model 210, as well as the turbocharged T210 and the pressurized P210 versions.

Operational history

On May 21, 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 May 26, 2019, a Cessna Model T210M airplane suffered an in-flight separation of the right wing. Preliminary investigations found cracking of the wing-spar carry-through where fatigue began from a small corrosion pit on the lower surface of the carry-through. Textron published a mandatory service letter (SEL-57-06) on June 24, 2019, to provide instructions for a detailed visual inspection of the wing carry-through spar. Since it shared a common carry-through design, the Cessna 177 Cardinal also received a similar mandatory service letter (SELF-57-07) and an airworthiness concern from the FAA. The FAA issued an Airworthiness Directive on February 21, 2020 mandating eddy current inspections of the carry-through spar lower cap, corrective action if necessary, application of a protective coating and corrosion inhibiting compound, and reporting the inspection results to the FAA.

Modifications

A wide range of modifications are available for the Cessna 210, including:

Variants

The Cessna 210 was manufactured in 26 model variants: 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 (turbocharged), and P210N (pressurized) 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, short-take-off-and-landing 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.

Operators

Civil

The Cessna 210 is widely used by flight training schools, private operators, air-taxi and commercial charter, and private companies.

Military

• ; 🇧🇴 • Fuerza Aérea Boliviana - five as of 1986 • ; 🇩🇴 • Dominican Air Force - two 210Ls in late 1980s. • ; • ;🇭🇳 • Honduran Air Force • ; 🇯🇲 • Jamaica Defence Force - two 210Ms acquired, one in 1983 and one in 1989. • ; 🇲🇽 • Mexican Air Force • ; 🇵🇭 • Philippine Air Force - four as of 1986 • ; 🇵🇦 • Panamanian Public Forces - one T210N in 1980s • ; • Paraguayan Air Force - two 210Ns • Paraguayan Naval Aviation - two 210Ns

Accidents and incidents

Specifications (T210N Turbo Centurion II)