The Whirlpool Aero Car or Spanish Aero Car is a cable car located in Niagara Falls, Ontario that transports passengers over a section of the Niagara River referred to as the Niagara Whirlpool. The system was designed by Spanish engineer Leonardo Torres Quevedo and has been upgraded several times since 1916. The system uses one car that carries 35 standing passengers over a one-kilometre trip.
Technical specifications
The Aero Car is suspended on six interlocking steel cables, each of which is in diameter. The car is powered by an electric motor and travels at approximately. In the event of a power failure, a diesel engine drives a hydraulic pump to pull the carrier back to the loading/unloading terminal. It also has a rescue car which holds four passengers and one operator. The rescue car has so far only been used for training purposes. The Aero Car is suspended between two Canadian points, though it crosses the Canadian and American borders four times on a full trip. The car crosses the border about from the starting point and runs through United States territory for about, but riders need no immigration clearance. At each end of the crossing, it is high, and in the centre, it is above the river. Its span is. The rapids entering the whirlpool below the Aero Car move at an estimated, and the flow of the water coming through the river is about 2,800 cubic meters per secondin the summer months, and 1,400 m³/s in the winter months. From the Aero Car, sightseers can seeWhirlpool State Park in Niagara Falls, New York, as well as the Robert Moses Niagara Hydroelectric Power Station in Lewiston, New York. From the side or centre of the car, one can view the violent motion of the whirlpool below. Riders may also see hikers on nature trails and fishermen on both sides of the river. The car was originally open, but a roof has been added to all later designs. A four-person rescue car is available, but not used in regular service. The car operates from 10am to 5pm from the second week of March to the first week of November. It is closed during most of the winter because of ice and snow.
