In the world of step-up Cessna aircraft, 210 Centurions are indeed complex singles. But with added pressurization, the P210 is another layer of complexity both in the air and on the shop floor.
That means bringing your A-game to every flight and focused preventive maintenance to each annual inspection. But when it all comes together, the P210 is a highly capable go-places traveler with a generous cabin, plus it has decent cruise and climb performance—but get an insurance quote and do a thorough prepurchase evaluation before bringing one home.
The pressurized single
This was an interesting concept back in the day, when the pressurized model P210N was introduced in 1978 and powered by a 310-HP turbocharged Continental TSIO-520P. Initially, the P210 was a hit and Cessna sold nearly 400 of them in the first couple of years. But the P210 wasn’t exactly a clean-sheet fresh design. Even at a glance you’ll see the airplane was a derivative of nearly two decades of C210 Centurions. The airframe was vintage 1960s and the engine was nothing new and even the pressurization system had been lifted from the pressurized 337 Skymaster. But Cessna improved on a solid design.
Following the lead of the Uvalde landing gear door mod that was popular among owners of plain-vanilla Centurions, Cessna took the main gear doors off the P210 in 1979 models. At the same time, the gear extension speed was raised to the top of the green arc (165 knots), making it a good speedbrake for easier letdowns without pulling the power off and shock-cooling the Continental. As it was, those big engines were causing some grief.
When a couple of P210s crashed after engine failures caused by detonation, the FAA issued emergency ADs calling for extra-rich mixtures to cool the engines, along with other anti-detonation measures that reduced performance and, of course, boosted fuel burn significantly. (As it was and still is, you don’t exactly buy a P210 with miserly fuel consumption in mind.) Turns out a bad engine/turbocharger combination was the excessive heat culprit of the detonation issue. But the ultimate AD fix created a retrofit that actually lowered performance, with P210 pilots finding they couldn’t hold manifold pressure or cabin pressure above 16,000 to 18,000 feet. Late in 1981, Cessna came up with another solution to the problem: a new air induction system that would be retrofitted free by the company to restore the lost performance. Consisting of a larger intake scoop and redesigned air plenum, it increased manifold pressure by up to seven inches at high altitude.
Model year 1982 brought major changes to the P210’s fuel system that included removing the dual fuel reservoir tanks in favor of one, allowing the pilot to select either or both fuel tanks in flight. Cessna also reworked the fuel vapor return lines, reducing the chance of vapor lock. But the brisk P210 sales that Cessna enjoyed early on dried up with the tanked economy of the mid-1980s. Cessna didn’t give up on the P210 and ultimately made sizable changes in the P210R for 1985 and 1986. The R models got bigger, beefier tails with a horizontal stabilizer that grew by nearly three feet. The wingspan also grew, measuring just shy of 39 feet. Transitioning pilots will like even higher gear and flap extension speeds compared to earlier models. With under 900 total P210s produced, these later R models are perhaps the most desirable and premium priced. They’re rare, with only 40 built. The current Fall 2023 Aircraft Bluebook suggests an average retail of $350,000. Earlier N-model P210s are shown at around $200,000, but planes with improvements and engine upgrades sell for a lot more.
Loading and flying them
P210 handling, like all Centurions, is sturdy with heavy control forces. That makes the P210 quite a stable IFR airplane. Aileron forces are lighter than pitch forces by a large degree, although elevator response is improved in the P210R model thanks to that bigger elevator. Pilots transitioning to any 210 will quickly learn that a a good-working electric pitch trim is a necessity.
On takeoff, the P210 generally isn’t a runway star (obey weight and balance numbers), and the extra weight of the pressurization components, air conditioning, de-ice and weather radar systems make for slower climb rates than non-pressurized Centurions. Useful load is typically between 1200 and 1300 pounds—lower by a few hundred pounds compared to normally aspirated non-pressurized 210s.
The P210 is a passenger’s airplane (and a true six-placer with bags) thanks to a wide and high cabin with decent ventilation, especially with aftermarket air vents. Aircraft Spruce sells an STC’d fresh air venting system for the 210, with Wemac all-metal swiveling and positive shutoff. The kit with forward center and aft vents and hoses is an eye-widening $1775. Installation could take seven hours and pretty much requires removing the interior.
Check the air conditioning performance during prepurchase evals. You want one with AC that’s been we’ll maintained. Moreover, the pressurization system is as rudimentary as pressurization gets. The pressure differential is a rather anemic 3.35 PSI, among the lowest of any current pressurized airplane. On top of that, the system has no rate controller. It simply starts to pressurize at the altitude selected by the pilot, maintains that cabin altitude as long as it can and then maintains max differential. But simplicity might be good for step-up pilots new to high-altitude pressurized ops.
The P210 has only one cabin door. We think rear-door airplanes like the Beech B36TC win hands-down for passenger and cargo loading. Stick the smallest and lightest people in the far aft of the cabin and toss them blankets when it’s cold. Many P210s have lux interior upgrades making a comfortable passenger experience even better, with reading lights and USB power. Some remove one of the center seats for easier access to the back cabin. You still need good ANR headsets, but the sealing of the pressure vessel and muffling effect of the turbocharger add up to less noise in the cabin.
When everyone is buckled in and on the way, P210 pilots report typical real-world cruise speeds at around 175 to 185 knots, depending on power setting and altitude. The P210R, with its more potent engine, can break 200 knots up high. Fuel burns are substantial, however: 15 to 20 GPH for early models and up to 23 GPH at 75 percent on the P210R. Because of time-to-climb limitations and cabin pressurization levels, most P210 pilots told us they prefer cruising below 20,000 feet—at 14,000 to 19,000 feet on average. All reported occasionally moving up to as high as FL 230 to get over weather.
P210s with standard (90-gallon) fuel systems are limited in terms of range, however. The P210R had an 85-gallon system as standard, with 115 gallons as optional; we don’t know how many of the few P210Rs that exist have the smaller tanks.
Transitioning pilots should tightly mind speeds in the descent; 20 knots indicated above maneuvering speed is one reference. Again, higher flap and gear extension speeds help and so does an autopilot with vertical speed command and airspeed hold. So do Precise Flight 2000-series speedbrakes (which double the descent rate), which can be deployed at any speed below Vne and are limited to 175 knots with tip fuel tanks. The STC’d kit is $8325 and installation can take up to 35 hours. The brakes add nine pounds to the airframe.
Mx support, engine mods
There’s an active Cessna 210 owners and pilots Facebook forum that’s good for sourcing any 210, and many have done sizable refurbs to their P models. There’s also www.cessnaflyer.org, which has some 210 stuff. As for maintaining these airplanes, avoid shortcuts and plan for intensive upkeep, particularly on a new-to-you machine that fell behind the upkeep curve. A good start is checking on FAA AD 2023-02-17 (Cessna 210 and 177 wing spar carry-through inspections). It adds to the previous AD (2020-03-16) and the main difference is compliance time. For the new AD 2023-02-17, it’s 12 months or 200 flight hours, whichever comes first.
A big part of the upkeep on a P210 is inside the engine bay, where it’s not at all uncommon to be changing cylinders on a regular basis. We think one of the best investments any P210 owner can make (other than the right training) is a high-quality engine and fuel monitoring system to precisely set temps and mind its health. Owners report that the two big trouble areas are alternators and vacuum pumps. Dual vacuum systems can be retrofitted to all P210s and are mandated by AD for any equipped with known icing.
You’ll find Silver Eagle P210s on the market. Originally developed by O & N Aircraft Modifications that is no longer in business, there are estimated to be around 100 mods flying. These planes have Rolls-Royce 250-B17F/2 turbines and strengthened airframes. Owners report cruise speeds as high as 220 KTAS with fuel burns in the mid-20s GPH. You’ll also find P210s with Vitatoe Aviation’s turbonormalized IO-550 engine conversion—a terrific mod that we covered in the May 2013 Aviation Consumer and still recommend it to this day.
At 31 inches of manifold pressure, it generates 310 HP on the turbonormalized IO-550 as opposed to the 36.5 inches required on the TSIO-520, allowing cooler running at high power settings. 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. Plan on spending close to $150,000 all in, on average.
“The Malibu was too expensive for our budget, but the P210 fit the bill just perfectly,” owner Scott Ruvo told us. He stepped up from a Cessna 182. With a 1432-pound useful load, Ruvo fully packs it with fuel, his family of five (including the dog) and almost all the luggage and toys everyone wants, and still doesn’t overload the airplane. “The plane struggles to get into the flight levels, so we usually flight plan for the mid- to upper teens for the best fuel economy and to take advantage of the best winds when we can. Sometimes it’s a bit faster, sometimes a bit slower, but we usually plan for 165 to 175 knots,” he said.
For him, a challenge is keeping the cylinder heads cool during summer ops. Running rich of peak, he sees between 17- and 18-GPH fuel burn.
“I’ve tried running lean of peak EGT, but the TIT (turbine inlet temp) ran excessively hot and we lost a considerable amount of airspeed,” he told us.
Market scan
Prices were all over the board going into winter 2023, with N-model P210s selling between $180,000 for mostly stock models and $460,000 for ones with Vitatoe engine mods and the latest avionics upgrades. Models with Silver Eagle turbine conversions seem to sit in the $680,000 to $800,000 price range.
Of course, engine time should play a big role in asking price and given the price hikes in the engine market the past year or two, you’ll want to consider this—and the cost of modern avionics retrofits—in your buying decision. A full-up Garmin suite with a new autopilot and engine display can easily run $100,000, and models equipped as such will be priced appropriately.
Last, no matter which P210 you’re considering, factor in the cost and time of high-quality transition training and unexpected maintenance.
