{"id":201142,"date":"2021-01-08T17:17:32","date_gmt":"2021-01-08T22:17:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/csce.dev\/en\/?post_type=historic_site&p=201142"},"modified":"2022-07-06T11:44:54","modified_gmt":"2022-07-06T15:44:54","slug":"the-whirlpool-spanish-aero-car","status":"publish","type":"historic_site","link":"https:\/\/legacy.csce.ca\/en\/historic-site\/the-whirlpool-spanish-aero-car\/","title":{"rendered":"The Whirlpool (Spanish) Aero Car"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

This Historic Project is commemorated jointly by CSCE and the AIC (<\/em>Asociaci\u00f3n de Ingenieros de Caminos, Canales y Puertos de Espa\u00f1a<\/em> \u2013 Spanish Civil Engineering Association)<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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Official opening for the Spanish Aero Car over the Whirlpool Rapids, August 8, 1916. (Source: Niagara Falls Public Library)<\/em><\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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Site Location: Lat.: 43\u00b0 \u2013 07\u2019 \u2013 05\u201d N; Long.: 79\u00b0 \u2013 04\u2019 \u2013 08\u201d W. (GPS: 43.1180306, -79.0687889) 3850 Niagara Pkwy, Niagara Falls, ON L2E 3E8. Travelling eastbound on the Queen Elizabeth way, take the Highway 405 (General Brock Parkway) exit, Exit 37, and proceed 5 km to the Stanley Avenue\/Regional Road 102 exit. Proceed 1.8 km and turn left onto Whirlpool Road. Continue 1.4 km and turn right onto the Niagara River Parkway. Proceed 1.1 km: the aero car is on your left. Or take the WE GO Green Line (Niagara Parks) bus.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Plaque Location: The plaque is mounted on a boulder located in a flower bed in front of the Aero Car Gift Shop.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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Plaque mounted on boulder in front of Aero Car Gift Shop. (Source: A. MacKenzie)<\/em><\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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Description: Leonardo Torres Quevedo, a Spanish engineer, designed the Niagara Spanish Aerocar to cross the \u201cWhirlpool\u201d of the Niagara River between Lakes Erie and Ontario, a distance of approximately 520 m. It was first tested on February 15, 1916 and was officially inaugurated on August 8, 1916. It opened to the public the following day and, with few modifications, operates to this day, with no accidents of a serious nature. The basket could carry 24 seated passengers and 21 standing passengers. Torres Quevedo built a fully Spanish-owned company, the Niagara Spanish Aerocar Co. Ltd., to carry out the construction, headed by his eldest son, Gonzalo, also a civil engineer.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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Henri Rechatin walking a tight rope on the wires of the Spanish Aero Car, 1975. (Source: Niagara Falls Public Library)<\/em><\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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Historic Significance: The aero car is believed to be the sole remaining example of Torres Quevedo\u2019s design for an aerial ferry. Although constructed and operated in Canada, it was a Spanish project from beginning to end: devised by a Spaniard and constructed by a Spanish company with Spanish capital. Torres Quevedo was a prolific engineer and innovator who initiated significant developments in dirigible design, radio control and analytical calculating machines. In 1991, the Niagara Parks Commission received the Leonardo Torres Quevedo Award on the 75th<\/sup> anniversary of the Aero Car, in recognition of its commitment to preserving Torres Quevedo\u2019s design. It was the first time this award was presented outside of Spain.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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Plaque detail. (Source: A. MacKenzie).<\/em><\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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Plaque Wording: International Historic Civil Engineering Site. THE NIAGARA SPANISH AEROCAR. A tribute to the distinguished Spanish Engineer who designed the Niagara Spanish Aerocar. This was only one of his many outstanding contributions to the engineering profession. Engineer Leonardo Torres Quevedo (1852-1936). Constructed 1914-1916. CSCE. The Canadian Society for Civil Engineering. 2010. Asociaci\u00f3n de Ingenieros de Caminos, Canales y Puertos de Espa\u00f1a.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Site Historique International de G\u00e9nie Civil. LE T\u00c9L\u00c9F\u00c9RIQUE ESPANOL DU NIAGARA. Un homage \u00e1 l\u2019\u00e9minent ing\u00e9nieur espagnol qui a con\u00e7u le T\u00e9l\u00e9f\u00e9rique Espagnol du Niagara. Ce n\u2019\u00e9tait que l\u2019und de ses nombreuses contributions exceptionnelles \u00e1 la profession d\u2019ing\u00e9nieur. Ing\u00e9nieur Leonardo Torres Quevedo (1852-1936). Construit 1914-1916. SCGC. La soci\u00e9t\u00e9 canadienne de genie civil. 2010. Asociaci\u00f3n de Ingenieros de Caminos, Canales y Puertos de Espa\u00f1a.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Enclave Hist\u00f3rico International de Ingenier\u00eda Civil. EL TRANSBORDADOR ESPA\u00d1OL DE NIAGARA. Un homenaje al distinguido ingeniero espa\u00f1iol qui concibi\u00f3 el Transbordador Espag\u00f1ol de Niagara. Esta fue solo una des sus muchas sobresalientes contribuciones en la profesi\u00f3n ingenier\u00eda. Ingeniero Leonardo Torres Quevedo (1852-1936). Construido 1914-1916. The Canadian Society for Civil Engineering. 2010. Asociaci\u00f3n de Ingenieros de Caminos, Canales y Puertos de Espa\u00f1a.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Plaque Unveiling Ceremony: (September 10, 2010)<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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CSCE President Vic Perry, left, and Leonardo Torres Quevedo, AICCP President and grandson of the designer, unveil the plaque at Oak Hall, the offices of the Niagara Parks Commission. (Source: CSCE).<\/em><\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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Leonardo Torres Quevedo and Vic Perry with the Aero Car in the background. (Source: CSCE).<\/em><\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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Links to Online Documentation:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Niagara Falls Public Library, \u201cImages, Spanish Aero Car\u201d.<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

A. P. Yuste and M. S. Palma, \u201cScanning Our Past from Madrid \u2013 Leonardo Torres Quevedo\u201d, Proceedings of the IEEE<\/em>, 2005.<\/a><\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This Historic Project is commemorated jointly by CSCE and the AIC (Asociaci\u00f3n de Ingenieros de Caminos, Canales y Puertos de Espa\u00f1a \u2013 Spanish Civil Engineering Association)   Site Location: Lat.: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22598,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","format":"standard","classification":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/legacy.csce.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/historic_site\/201142"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/legacy.csce.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/historic_site"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/legacy.csce.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/historic_site"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legacy.csce.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22598"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legacy.csce.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=201142"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/legacy.csce.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/historic_site\/201142\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":211008,"href":"https:\/\/legacy.csce.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/historic_site\/201142\/revisions\/211008"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/legacy.csce.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=201142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"classification","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legacy.csce.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/classification?post=201142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}