Page 10 - February 2022

LPV minimums for aircraft so equipped. Two large FBOs at LIT offer all the amenities and services any pilot or passenger might require.
The Heat is On
Of course the primary attraction to Hot Springs National Park (HSNP) is water. Naturally heated, mineral rich, plentiful spring water. While two of the natural springs in the area are actually cold, most are not just warm, but genuinely hot. This heating process is accomplished as rainwater descends through porous rock, percolating via gravitational compression. When the water eventually surfaces through the lower west slope of Hot Springs Mountain, it flows out at an average temperature of 143oF (62oC). Many public drinking fountains and bottle filling stations, plus the historic bathhouses, all utilize the roughly 700,000 gallons of spring water collected per day by the park. Historically, the hot water (and the minerals it contains) were thought to have healing properties. This attracted bathhouse patrons from all over the U.S. for more than a century. Included among those
The Fordyce was the premier bathhouse in the early 1900s and now serves as the HSNP Visitor Center. It is an excellent example of the glory years of these facilities, filled with fine tile work and historic medicinal bathing equipment.
“Many public drinking foun- tains and bottle filling stations, plus the historic bathhouses, all utilize the roughly 700,000 gal- lons of spring water collected per day by the park.”
8 • KING AIR MAGAZINE
FEBRUARY 2022