Anyone want to tell me about this model. The manager of the aeroclub tells me they are poorly made and the parts are hard to find and expensive. Anyone else want to chime in? Maybe that's why they look so affordable in the for sale listings?

Exactly. They have this little problem with gear collapses in particular. They are fast though. A good friend of mine had one years back and sold it after the second gear up landing. The FBO I work at is selling theirs because of the down time. They scare me.

Don't believe everything you hear. I've owned a 210 for about 4 years. Haven't had any problems. In fact, two of my other pilot friends also each own a 210. Mine is a late 1972 model. The others are a 1967 and a 1976 turbo.None of us have had any problems. Most of the landing gear problems you've heard about are caused by mechanics that don't understand the gear system and don't adjust it correctly or pilots just forgetting to put it down. A 210 is a high performance aircraft. Mine cruise at 165knots(190mph) all day, every day, hauling 1000lbs in the cabin with full fuel(90gal) and burning 13.5 gal/hr.(I've got Gammi injectors). This plane is made for going between point A and point B, not blasting around for the $100.00 hamburger. As far as parts, the three of us have never had a problem getting anything we've needed. It's an easy plane to fly as long as you have some high performance time and know how to manage a big bore Continental engine. In IFR it's like on rails, really stable. If you'd like to know more E-mail me back.

I bought a 1963 C-210 about 7 years ago and I’ve had two gear problems in about 500 hours of flying it. The first time the gear did not extend normally & I had to pump it down with the emergency pump. It got my attention but it was no big deal. Now that I know in detail how the system works I’m pretty comfortable with it. You would have to loose a seal or break a hydraulic line aft of the emergency pump to have a complete gear failure. While this could happen to any retractable, it is very unlikely.

The second incident happened a few days ago. I was out working on a new level of Wings when I was not able to get a green light on the gear. It sounded like all three locked but no light. We did a low pass at the tower. They said it looked ok to them so in we came, landing very gently with happy results. Problem was a loose wire on the nose gear switch.

Now that I hear someone walked away from two gear-up incidents I’m even more at ease.

All in all I’m very happy with my 210. It is an old airplane to be sure but it is fairly fast with a fuel burn of 11 gal/hr. It carries 1,100 lbs minus the fuel load which can be up to 82 gal. It is comfortable, stable and easy to fly. Plenty of room for a family of four & our little dog.

I agree with the two owners'informed posts. Flew a rented C-210 from Florida to Canada at this time last year. It is a wonderfully smooth and stable XC plane. 185-190 mph all day long (800+ miles!). More than any bladders on board! Flew into a narrow gravel crop duster's strip in Saskatchewan in a very stiff crosswind - no sweat. Take off a full gross in Williston, ND with a density altitude up around 8,000 feet - jumped into the air. My only "unusual' comment would be that the trim changes with power changes on final approach. After learning that fact you simply plan and fly a stable approach, no problem. I would love to own a 210!!!

As a Cessna mechanic for 20+ years I would not hesitate to recommend a 210 for a WELL trained pilot. This is a HIGH PERFORMANCE SINGLE and about as complex as a single gets.I would avoid anything over 20 years or so for practical reasons. Generally the older the model the harder to get many parts for and i would avoid the engine driven pump models and a 210 which still has gear doors.(higher maintenance) As with most things , You Get What You Pay For. I have seen many "low priced " airplanes,almost NONE were cheap come annual time.