C210 pilot reported a power loss after takeoff that may have been caused by improper propeller and t...

Attributes
ACN	1515662
Time
Date	201802
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Cessna 210 Centurion / Turbo Centurion 210C 210D
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Takeoff
Route In Use	None
Flight Plan	None
Component
Aircraft Component	Propeller Control
Person 1
Function	Single Pilot
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) Flight Crew Flight Instructor Flight Crew Multiengine Flight Crew Instrument
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 42 Flight Crew Total 4778 Flight Crew Type 1100
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy

Narrative:

I took off from a touch and go and the aircraft climb rate dropped to near zero at about 200 ft AGL. I made a very low cross wind turn/leg and got almost to pattern altitude by the end of the downwind leg. The airplane behaved as if it had very little power. I checked to be certain that the gear and flaps were up. I was just a couple of knots below best angle speed.several hours later I think I now understand what happened; it was operator error. The red light on my electric tach lit up; it often does this for a very small excursion over the limiting RPM. The proper way to deal with this is to adjust the propeller control. I now think that I must have been pulling back the throttle instead of the propeller control to keep the rpm below red line.this; I believe; would explain the loss of power. If I am correct; this was a clear error on my part. Unfortunately; I cannot think of a way to prevent such an error. I have way more than 1000 hours in the airplane and I am current in it. I was out practicing landings as I did only a few days prior.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: C210 pilot reported a power loss after takeoff that may have been caused by improper propeller and throttle control.

Narrative: I took off from a touch and go and the aircraft climb rate dropped to near zero at about 200 ft AGL. I made a very low cross wind turn/leg and got almost to pattern altitude by the end of the downwind leg. The airplane behaved as if it had very little power. I checked to be certain that the gear and flaps were up. I was just a couple of knots below best angle speed.Several hours later I think I now understand what happened; it was operator error. The red light on my electric tach lit up; it often does this for a very small excursion over the limiting RPM. The proper way to deal with this is to adjust the propeller control. I now think that I must have been pulling back the throttle instead of the propeller control to keep the rpm below red line.This; I believe; would explain the loss of power. If I am correct; this was a clear error on my part. Unfortunately; I cannot think of a way to prevent such an error. I have way more than 1000 hours in the airplane and I am current in it. I was out practicing landings as I did only a few days prior.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.