Cessna 210 Centurion / Turbo Centurion 210C; 210D
Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Private
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 15; Flight Crew Total 1775; Flight Crew Type 1150
Situational Awareness; Troubleshooting; Communication Breakdown
Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Air Traffic Control Provided Assistance; Flight Crew Requested ATC Assistance / Clarification; Flight Crew Returned To Departure Airport; General Maintenance Action; General Flight Cancelled / Delayed
Aircraft
Departed ZZZ on Runway XX at XA01. Engine ran smoothly on run-up and during takeoff roll; all cylinder temperatures normal. Assigned climb to 5;000 ft. via radar vector 200 heading by ZZZ Tower. After departure; handed off to ZZZ1 Approach. Checked in with ZZZ1 Approach at approximately 2;200 ft. MSL; after which the engine started to run very roughly and cylinder head temperatures started to rise above normal levels. [Requested priority handling] with ZZZ1 Approach and stated that I needed to return immediately to ZZZ. ZZZ1 Approach asked if we needed assistance; to which I replied negative. Switched back to ZZZ Tower; requested priority handling with them again; and stated that we would be returning to the airport and landing on Runway XY.ZZZ Tower cleared out other traffic and cleared us to land on Runway XX; in response to which I restated that [we] would be landing on Runway XY. This back-and-forth transmission was repeated a couple of times; but eventually [we] were cleared to land on Runway XY by ZZZ Tower. Completed 270-degree turn; extended landing gear; and landed on Runway XY without further incident. [We] were able to taxi back to ramp with no further issue. Problem hasn't been verified; but suspect water contaminated fuel that sloshed to fuel pickup on rotation. Will analyze engine logs to check for proper fuel flow.
C210 pilot reported engine power loss on climb-out and elected to perform an air turn back and precautionary landing.