Whirlpool Aero Car, Aerial tramway in Niagara Falls, Canada
The Whirlpool Aero Car is an aerial cable car that transports passengers across the Niagara River while suspended above a natural whirlpool carved by the river's current. The system uses six steel cables and carries about 35 people per trip.
The Niagara Spanish Aerocar Co. Limited built the cable car in 1913 to a design by Spanish engineer Leonardo Torres Quevedo (1852–1936), and it opened in August 1916. It has been refurbished in 1961, 1967, 1984 and 2023. On 30 May 1989 a sightseeing helicopter struck the cable; the pilot landed on a golf course, nobody was hurt, and the ride closed for three days for inspection.
The name recalls its Spanish origin: engineer Leonardo Torres Quevedo designed it, and the Niagara Spanish Aerocar Co. Limited built it in 1913. A plaque near the entrance records this in English. The car crosses into United States territory for about 200 feet mid-trip, yet riders need no immigration clearance.
The car is boarded at a single terminal on the Canadian side in Niagara Falls, Ontario; there is no access from the American bank. It runs from 10am to 5pm between the second week of March and the first week of November, and has not operated in winter since 2004. A full round trip covers one kilometre and takes riders over the whirlpool at about 7 km/h.
The water below the cable car forms a continuous whirlpool about as wide as two city blocks, created by the sheer force of the Niagara current. This natural phenomenon makes this section of the river one of the most hydraulically active in the region.
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