People often inquire of the Cessna Pilots Association as to what is the best Cessna to buy, or what is the best Cessna model ever built. There really is no answer to this question because each model has its advantages and disadvantages. When buying an aircraft one of the most important things to keep in mind is to buy an aircraft that fits your average mission profile the best.

For example, if you are buying an airplane primarily so you and your wife can fly to a vacation home 150 miles away, a high-performance six-passenger aircraft like the 210 has very little advantage over a basic four seat 172, and is significantly more expensive to purchase and operate. On the other hand, if you’re a salesperson who covers a region of several states and occasionally takes several clients with you, the 172 simply won’t fulfill this mission and the 210 could easily prove to be the most practical way to travel, particularly where time is money. Again, buy the airplane that fits your mission best.

The Cessna 210 Centurion’s strongest attribute is speed. The Centurion is one of the fastest single engine general aviation aircraft every built. With some of the later model years having cruising speeds in excess of 190 knots, this airplane is not only a fast single engine aircraft, it will flat outrun many light twin aircraft.

The other strong suit of a Cessna 210 Centurion aircraft is its ability to carry a load. While there are other high performance single engine prop aircraft that on paper will carry a similar amount of weight, in the real world many of them suffer from limitations not found with the Centurion. The Bonanza will carry a similar amount of weight but is very restricted in regards to aft CG limit, so unless that weight is mostly in front seat passengers, you hit the CG limits before you have all the baggage on board. The Mooney isn’t too bad on useful load, but where are you going to put it when there is barely room for your elbows?

Of course if load carrying capability is your prime concem and your mission lengths are going to be modest, say 300 miles or so, then perhaps the 210 Centurion is not the right plane for you. A Cessna 205, 206 or 207 will carry an equal or greater load at less operating expense and only a few minutes additional time enroute. A 182 Skylane might also be something to be considered in this situation if you don’t need more than four seats.

Speed and load carrying capability do not come cheap. With the Cessna 210 Centurion you have a big engine which drinks lots of high priced avgas, this big engine has a lower TBO (1400 to 1800 hours, depending on model) than most of the 200 horsepower engines in other aircraft.

You also have a retractable landing gear system which adds to maintenance, inspection and insurance costs. Insurance costs are also increased by the fact that it is a six-place airplane as opposed to a four-place airplane. On the other hand, because it can carry a load and many models of the Centurion have six seats, the cost per pound, cost per mile, or cost per seat-mile are extremely reasonable.

In short the Cessna 210 Centurion is a very expensive, impractical way to go bore holes in the sky on Saturday morning, but oh what a great traveling machine, crossing the country in leaps and bounds.