The
Spanish Aerocar is a cable car on the
Canadian side of the Niagara River. Opened
in 1916, it takes passengers over the
whirlpool in the Niagara River. The name
comes from the fact that it was designed
by a Spanish engineer, Leonardo Torres
y Quevedo. Despite what appears to be
a risky adventure, the Aerocar has not
had a single fatality of any kind in the
nearly 90 years it has been operating.
The Aerocar is suspended on six interlocking
steel cables each 25 mm (1 in) in diameter.
It is powered by an electric 50 horsepower
(37 kW) motor and travels at approximately
7 km/h (5 mi/h). In the event of a power
failure they do have a diesel generator
which safely pulls the car back to dock.
It also has a rescue car which holds four
passengers and one operator which they
have never had to use except for training
purposes. The Aerocar has carried well
over ten million passengers safely. The
Aerocar is suspended between two Canadian
points, although between the two points
it crosses the Canadian and American borders
four times on a full trip.
At
either end of the crossing it is 250 feet
(86 m) and in the centre 150 feet (42
m) above the river. At 1800 feet (550
m) across, the Aerocar has one of the
longest spans in the world without a supporting
tower. The rapids entering the whirlpool
below the aerocar are visible moving at
an estimated 35 to 37 km/h and the flow
of the water coming through the river
is about 2,800 m³/s (623,000 imp
gal/s) in the summer months and 300,000
imperial gallons per second (1,400 m³/s)
in the winter months. From the Aerocar
you get a breathtaking view of Whirlpool
State Park in Niagara Falls, New York,
as well as the Robert Moses Generating
Station in Lewiston, New York. From side
or center of the car you are bound to
view the violent motion of the 60 acre
(0.25 km²) whirlpool below. It coils
and uncoils revealing the power of the
Niagara River. You also notice numerous
fisherman and hikers below getting down
via a series of nature trails on the Canadian
and American sides. Typically the fisherman
catch smallmouth bass, trout and salmon
but a wide variety of fish are there to
be caught. The Aerocar is open from mid-March
to the end of October and priced at $10.70
Canadian per adult and $6.42 per child.
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