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.
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The Aero Car was conceived by J. Enoch Thompson, and built in 1913 by The Niagara Spanish Aerocar Co. Limited, according to the design of Spanish engineer Leonardo Torres y Quevedo. It opened in August 1916, and has since been upgraded in 1961, 1967, and 1984.
Near the entrance, there is a plaque which reads:
NIAGARA SPANISH AERO CAR
Leonardo Torres Quevedo (1852 - 1936) was an ingenious Spanish engineer. Among his creations were algebraic machines, remote control devices, dirigibles and the world's first computer. The Niagara Spanish Aero Car was designed by Leonardo Torres Quevedo and represented a new type of aerial cable way that he called "transbordador". Officially opened on August 8, 1916, it is the only one of its kind in existence.—The Niagara Parks Commission 1991
The Aero Car is suspended on six interlocking steel cables, each of which is 25 mm (1 inch) in diameter. The car is powered by an electric 50 horsepower (37 kW) motor and travels at approximately 7 km/h (5 mph). In the event of a power failure, a diesel generator safely pulls the car back to dock. 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. At each end of the crossing, it is 240 feet (73.152m) high, and in the centre, it is 200 feet (60.96m) above the river. Its span is 1770 feet (539 m). The rapids entering the whirlpool below the Aero Car move at an estimated 35 to 37 km/h, and the flow of the water coming through the river is about 2,800 cubic meters per second (623,000 imperial gallons per second) in the summer months, and 1,400 m³/s (300,000 imp gal/s) in the winter months. From the Aero Car, sightseers can see Whirlpool 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 center of the car, one can view the violent motion of the 60 acre (0.25 km²) whirlpool below. Riders may also see hikers on nature trails and fishermen on both sides of the river.
