Page 8 - Volume 16 Number 5

The Pressurized Centurion was a great idea, but not an easy one to execute, even for Cessna.Don Landoll, Chairman of Landoll Corporation in picturesque Marysville, Kansas, was already familiar with the operation of a Turbo 210 when Cessna introduced the Pressurized Centurion. He first purchased a 1973 model T210, then upgraded to a 1978 edition and eventually went to a 1984 model, which his company still owns. But he was hesitant to embrace the pressurized version, understanding well the challenges Cessna was coping with. “I wanted a reliable engine”, Landoll stresses; he was looking for an airplane that was as safe as a twin.He learned of O&N’s plans to convert the P210 to turbine power, and was quickly intrigued. In 1993, when O&N Modifications received STC #SA1003NE for its Silver Eagle conversion, Landoll was first in line for a production slot. He bought a 1980 P210, flew it to Factoryville, Pennsylvania for the transplant, took delivery in April of 1993, and has been flying it ever since.The key to the Silver Eagle’s success, of course, is the chosen powerplant. The little Allison 250 was a very experienced twin-shaft turbine, widely used in light helicopters and adaptable, with a proper gearbox, to driving a propeller. Rolls-Royce acquired GM’s Allison division in 1994, bringing all of its legendary engine expertise.Rich Landoll (left) and Don Landoll (right) fly Landoll Corporation’s Silver Eagle, the first production conversion.Twin & Turbine reader Daniel Allison (no relation to the Indianapolis-based engine maker) also owns a Silver Eagle P210, along with a Pitts S2B. He and his wife Mim fly their airplanes from the Santa Rosa, California airport, where Propjet Aviation services Silver Eagles. Their Silver Eagle started out life as a 1978 airplane (the only P210 with full gear doors) and was converted in 2008; “I flew it for a half-hour before it went to the factory,” Daniel said.Why have 107 owners spent a fairly large amount of money converting Cessna’s big piston single to turbine power? After all, the current full-boat price is $935,000, and you furnish the airframe. As anyone with experience in certifying aircraft can tell you, nothing is ever as simple as it seems. O&N basically rebuilds the Pressurized Centurion; this is not just an engine swap. The mod includes a new instrument panel with turbine gauges, an S-Tec 55 autopilot, air conditioning, a fuel tankage increase (O&N has long offered baggage- compartment tanks for 210s), structural beef-ups for the flight controls, a redone interior and a new paint job. O&N is known for producing a first-class product, not a recowled, dropped-in engine mod.Pressurization was and is the main attraction for P210 owners, of course. Wearing supplemental oxygen is just not a great travel experience; the Silver Eagle retains the P210’s 23,000-foot operating ceiling, and Allison6 • TWIN &M&E M2&TT TUURRBBIINNEMAAYYY 2200112