Cessna T210K/L Turbo Centurion II (1970-1976)

The specifications on this page describe the Model T210L (1972-1976), which is 2,070 of the 2,373 serials in Section XIII of FAA TCDS 3A21 — 87%. The 1970-1971 T210K is a Variants-table row with its own figures. Where a limit is split by serial, the block covering 74% of the T210L run is stored and the other is in the table.

The 1970 T210K brought the turbocharged Centurion II: the 3,800 lb gross weight, the six-place cabin and the 89 usable gallons of the 210K, with a Continental TSIO-520-H. 3A21 certificates it at 285 hp at 2,700 rpm and 32.5 in. Hg manifold pressure for all operations — one power figure, held to altitude.

The T210L ran through the 1976 model year, not 1972. The page previously said 1970-1972. 3A21's eligible-serial list gives the T210L five model years and the T210M does not begin until serial 21061574.

The counter-intuitive part: the normally aspirated airplane has more takeoff power

3A21 rates the 210K/210L's IO-520-L at 300 hp for a five-minute takeoff and 285 continuous. It rates the T210K/T210L's TSIO-520-H at 285 hp flat, for all operations. On a sea-level runway the normally aspirated Centurion II has 15 hp more.

That is what turbocharging buys and what it does not. It does not add power; it stops power falling away with altitude. A T210L is the same 285 hp airplane at 18,000 ft that it is at 2,000, and that is the whole difference between the two pages.

The TSIO-520-H

A 520 cubic inch, six-cylinder, fuel-injected, turbocharged Continental, certificated at 285 hp. TBO 1,400 hours, 300 less than the normally aspirated IO-520-L in the same certificate section, and a $58,000 reference overhaul against $48,000.

It still needs careful cylinder management. Cylinder head temperatures above 380°F shorten cylinder life quickly, and most surviving T210K/L aircraft carry an aftermarket engine monitor for real-time CHT and EGT.

Every certificate figure below is from FAA TCDS 3A21 Rev. 50 Section XIII.

The bold row is what the frontmatter describes. Flaps-extended speed is the only limit that separates the T210K from the T210L in the early block — 96 knots against 104, printed on one line of the certificate with the model names in brackets. The 1976 block is not a faster airplane; it is the same airplane limited in indicated rather than calibrated airspeed.

3A21 issues one serial sequence for the 210K, T210K, 210L and T210L together, so these counts include the normally aspirated airframes. They are quoted that way rather than split on a guess.

AOPA's 1970 T210K column, which is NOT this page's frontmatter

AOPA publishes a full spec column for the 1970 T210K. It is recorded here rather than in the frontmatter, because this page describes the T210L and the two are different airplanes on everything AOPA measures except the certificate limits:

The two agree exactly on the one thing both document — the airspeed limits and their calibrated basis — which is why AOPA is trusted as a cross-check elsewhere. The rest is stated for a T210K and is not evidence for a T210L.

Against its neighbours

Cruise speed, range, burn, climb and ceiling on this page are not sourced. They come from the April 2026 generation pass. A type certificate carries no performance data, and AOPA's turbo fact sheet has no T210L column — its three are the 1966 T210F, the 1970 T210K and the 1979 T210N.

The stored 200 KTAS cruise is the figure to be most sceptical of. For the later, more powerful T210N, Cessna Flyer quotes the airplane's own Information Manual at 196 knots at 80% power at 20,000 ft and 179 knots at 71% at 16,000 ft. A 285 hp T210L reaching 200 KTAS at FL180 would be quicker than a 310 hp T210N at its book maximum. Sourcing it needs a T210L Owner's Manual.

The airspeed limits are split by serial, and the basis changes with them

• S/N 21059200 through 21061039 — CALIBRATED, mph first with knots in brackets: Vne 196, Vno 165, Va 117, Vfe 96 for the T210K and 104 for the T210L. 1,537 of 2,070 serials, 74%. This is what the frontmatter carries.
• S/N 21061040 through 21061573 — INDICATED, the 1976 airplanes: 199 / 168 / 119 / 105, gear limits 140 knots. 533 serials. Serial 21061042 is excluded and appears in the 1978 T210M list instead.

Stored as a set: pairing the calibrated Vne with the indicated Vfe would describe no airplane.

3A21's NOTE 4 covers only the 1976 block, and says less than the Cessna 172's does. 3A12 states "TIAS is exactly equal to CAS" for its covered serials; 3A21 says only that an IAS-marked indicator is an equivalent level of safety when the handbook's calibration data is aboard. No conversion was made.

Gear speeds

160 mph (139 knots) for gear operation and gear extended on the 1972-1975 airplanes; 140 knots on the 1976 ones. The catalogue has no vlo/vle field, so the limits live here.

T210K/L trade above equivalent normally aspirated 210K/L for the altitude capability. Turbo condition is the dominant valuation factor, and the engine reserve is $41 an hour against the normally aspirated airplane's $28 ($58,000 over 1,400 hours, against $48,000 over 1,700).

The price band on this page is legacy and unsourced, and it was written for a run believed to end in 1972 rather than 1976.

210 universal concerns apply. T210K/L-specific:

1. Turbocharger condition: Inspect for shaft play, oil seepage, blade damage. Turbo replacement: $5,000-$10,000.
2. Wastegate operation: Automatic wastegate must operate smoothly through full power range. Wastegate overhaul: $1,500-$3,000.
3. Cylinder CHT history: Review engine monitor data for CHT excursions. Recurring high CHTs suggest cylinder problems ahead.
4. Exhaust system condition: Turbo exhausts run hot and crack. Inspect for cracks, weeping, weld failures.
5. Gear pump and hydraulic system: same 1972 transition as the normally aspirated K/L — a T210K is engine-driven and a T210L is electric power pack. 3A21 NOTE 6 puts the electrical change at the same serial: 14-volt through 21059502, 28-volt from 21059503, which is the first T210L.
6. Check the serial against the airspeed block. A 1976 T210L (S/N 21061040 and up) is placarded in indicated airspeed at 199 / 168 / 119 / 105 knots and an earlier one in calibrated airspeed at 196 / 165 / 117 / 104. NOTE 4 requires POH P/N D1070-13's calibration data aboard for the later ones.
7. Fuel: 89 usable, not 90. One gallon of the total is unusable and is already counted in the empty weight — which matters more here than on the normally aspirated airplane, because a hard-worked turbo 210 is a four-hour airplane rather than a seven-hour one.