So, you want to fly one of these! Bush planes in Africa II.

Photo of HA-SKW 1960 C210 was taken by Peter Nadasi. The large size can be found here.

Next to come is the Cessna 210 Centurion with retractible landing gears. I could not tell you weather 206's or 210's are more in Africa, but there is a clear distinction among the countries. If you look at Botswana you'll find more 206's. If you look at Namibia the 210 is the true workhorse in the bush.

Although from Hungarian operators I know that the 210's constantly have problems with the landing gear. The 210 is a very stable aircraft. In level or turning flight it behaves as if it were turning by robot. The ailerons feel heavy and there's a need to properly trim the aircraft. Also you can feel the weight of the airplane through the elevator (actually it is the second heaviest single engine behind the Malibu). As speed increases so increases elevator force, need to trim this, too.

The early Cessna 210 (210 and 210A) had 4 seats with a Continental IO-470 engine of 260 hp (190 kW). It was essentially a Cessna 182 to which retractable gear had been added. The one I know is from 1960. Still fourseater. But whith a new 300 hp engine. I'm gonna do my check in this one. See pic of HA-SKW.

In 1961 the C210 was completely redesigned. The wider and roomier fuselage allowed for a third side window. New sut the semi-Fowler flaps were added (slotted, rear-moving), which allowed a lower landing speed (flaps-down, power-off stall speed is around 56 knots according to the operator of C210 HA-SKW).

The 1964 model 210D introduced a 285 hp (213 kW) engine and 2 small child seats.

In 1967 the model 210G introduced a cantilever wing replacing the strut-braced wing.

In 1970 the 210K became the first full 6-seat model; this was achieved by replacing the flat-leaf main gear springs with tapered tubular steel springs of greater tread width (which allowed the tires to be nested farther back in the fuselage).

In 1979 the 210N model eliminated the folding doors which previously covered the retracted main gears; the retracted tubular springs lie in shallow channels along the bottom of the fuselage and the wheels fit snugly into a closed depression on the fuselage bottom. 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 turbocharged T210 and the pressurized P210 versions.

Links:

http://www.aircraftguru.com/aircraft/aircraft-information.php?craftid=98
http://www.flugzeuginfo.net/acdata_php/acdata_cessna_210_en.php

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Cessna_210#encyclopedia

http://www.africanpilot.co.za/the-magnificent-cessna-210-centurion_112008_10.php

Pictures from Airliners.net

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