Flying the Cessna 210 - Marv Golden Pilot Supplies

8
Climb, Cruise, Descent
Flying
Climbing the 210
The Cessna 210 and T210 have very nice “real world” climb performance, but you will find the P210N climbs a bit slower. The P210N has
adequate climb performance in standard temperature environments,
but it takes careful operation in hot climbs. If you live or fly in hot
climates, you may find high oil temperatures and CHTs during high
ambient air temperature climbs with the T and P models. The R model
aircraft are not as affected by hot ambient air operations. These airplanes have big engines that need a lot of air and fuel to help cool them
in the climb during high temperature operations. Think of it this way:
the airflow cools the outside of the engine, the fuel cools the inside.
Don’t be surprised if your airplane doesn’t make the rate of climb number in the POH, as they are based on a standard weight aircraft that
is brand new (minimally equipped) and flown by a factory test pilot.
Your airplane probably weighs more than the flight test aircraft that was
used to develop the numbers in the chart above. Your aircraft probably
has more drag from optional equipment (antennas, air conditioning,
scoops, etc.) and doesn’t have a brand new engine and propeller. So
if you are using the same climb configuration as shown on the climb
rate chart, yet getting 50-100 FPM less than the factory climb rate,
don’t be disappointed by that — but remember it and use it for your
flight planning purposes. This kind of information is critical to you
when calculating minimum climb gradients on IFR departures. Use
“real” information when you know it, not just published data.
8 Climb, Cruise, Descent
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110
Flying the Cessna 210
As you already know, when you climb with a normally aspirated
engine, the higher you climb, the less manifold pressure you can maintain. Thus, in the Cessna 210, your available horsepower decreases
as you climb and your rate of climb will diminish accordingly, even
if at full throttle and maximum-allowable RPM. You will of course
be leaning the mixture in
the climb to maintain best
available power, using the
Cessna Power Computer or
the “Maximum Performance
Take-Off and Climb Setting”
placard that is located
adjacent to the fuel flow
indicator.
Those of you that own or
fly Cessna 210s with the
Continental IO-550 engine
conversion will love the
Manifold pressure and fuel flow indicator
increased performance and
the fuel control system; it has an altitude-compensating fuel system
for climb. You still may have to manually lean for cruise, depending
on the power setting you are using. When the IO-550 is installed, an
engine manual is included. It is well worth your time to read how that
engine operates, as with any modification, your original POH will not
reflect how to manage the IO-550.
The turbocharged aircraft can normally attain sea-level horsepower
up to 18,000 feet, so you can set a desired manifold pressure and
RPM and climb at that power and rate of climb to the flight levels on
a standard day.
A word of caution for the turbocharged aircraft operators. If you
lean to the mixture settings shown in Section 5 of the POH, you will
be running the engine with a very lean fuel/air ratio. This will result in
high engine temperatures and shorter engine life. Engine temperature
limits (oil; CHT; exhaust gas temperature, or EGT; and turbine inlet
8 Climb, Cruise, Descent
111
temperature, or TIT) are presented with the maximum temperatures,
but that doesn’t mean you can run the engine all day long with the
temperatures at redline. Most 210 operators keep the CHT at less than
400° (preferably in the 380° range or less) and the TIT in the vicinity
or 1500°-1600°, depending on the other temperatures. The real key
to operating these engines is keeping them cool. If you operate with
oil below 200°, CHTs in the 380° range, and EGT/TIT wherever you
need it to be to keep the CHTs in the desired range and the oil cool,
you should be able to take your engine very close to TBO.
When operating in high ambient air temperature conditions, we must
use all available techniques to keep these engines cool. These techniques include, when necessary: climbing with full-rich mixture all
the way to cruise altitude, fully opening cowl flaps during the climb,
and using a lower angle of attack/higher airspeed than Vy. (I cruise
climb most 210s at 120 KIAS to accomplish two things: one, keeping
the engine cool; two, allowing me to see over the dash and look for
traffic.) Also, although RPM is primary power, it may be necessary to
use a lower RPM and a higher MP to maintain the same horsepower
output, since a lower RPM generally will yield lower CHTs.
P210 that has transitioned to a 4° cruise climb during a missed approach
112
Flying the Cessna 210
Sometimes it is necessary during climb to use the high boost setting
on the fuel pump during climb to keep the CHTs in the desired range.
To do this, you have to hold the red auxiliary fuel pump switch in
the ON position, as it is spring loaded. When you no longer need the
high boost pump running and you release the red switch, you must
turn off the yellow auxiliary pump switch, as it is not spring loaded.
You must be careful if you use this technique, because if you forget
to turn off the yellow switch, the engine may die when you retard the
throttle. You can learn more about this yellow switch in Chapters 3
and 7 of your POH/AFM.
The Engine Analyzer — what Cessna didn’t have to include when the
airplanes were built — is now a crucial part of our engine operations
in the Centurion product line. We are able to accurately see all of our
engine parameters in a single instrument if we have one installed. There
are two major companies that produce engine analyzers normally
installed in 210s: JPI Instruments and Electronics International. They
both provide the desired data in a very usable manner.
85% power climb