Aircraft model
CESSNA 210L
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Centurion, built 1972-1976 in L form, is Cessna's big retractable single: six seats, 300 hp, a cantilever wing with no struts, and about 165 knots with a useful load close to 1,600 lb. It is one of very few piston singles that will genuinely carry six people and fuel, and it has been used for family travel, light charter and utility work for fifty years.
There is one thing a buyer must know before anything else. Following an in-flight wing separation in 2019, the FAA issued an airworthiness directive requiring inspection of the wing spar carry-through structure on the 210 series; compliance status and any findings materially affect both airworthiness and value, and this is the first question to ask about any 210. Beyond that, the landing gear is complicated — the earlier models retract into wells covered by doors, and the hydraulic system needs a knowledgeable mechanic. The IO-520 is thirsty at 16-17 gallons an hour and has a crankcase cracking history. Insurance requires complex and high-performance endorsements and real retractable time.
Compare with…
Put CESSNA 210L side by side with up to two other models.
- CESSNA 210L
What it is
| Seats | 6 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Continental IO-520-L |
| Horsepower | 300 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1972 |
| Production end | 1976 |
| Endorsements required | complex;high-performance |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 165 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 800 nm |
| Service ceiling | 17,300 ft |
| Climb rate | 950 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 58 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 1,900 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 1,500 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 6 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 1,580 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 1,040 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 3,800 lb |
| Empty weight | 2,220 lb |
| Usable fuel | 90 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 16.8 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $115,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $260,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 1,700 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $48,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $68,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 842 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 234 |
| Median year built | 1975.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 11 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 3 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 47.011 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 34.192 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 38 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 16.243 |
| Airworthiness directives | 6 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 234 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 234 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 234 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 5-6 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 5.6 of 101 |
| Severity | 2.3 of 102 |
| Access | 4.9 of 103 |
| Support | 7.7 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 3.5 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 24 out of 506 |
- Accident record: class median 38.14 · 75 models in class.
- Severity: class median 10.
- Access: class median 1,826.5.
- Support: class median 74.
- Liquidity: class median 17.96.
- Each of the five categories places the model within its peer class, from 0 (the worst of the class) to 10 (the best): a position among comparable models, not a grade. The overall score is the sum of the categories shown that are scored, out of 10 for each (50 when all five are); it is given only when at least 4 of the five are scored, and it can be set against another model's only when both are in the same peer class and scored on the same categories.