Fig. 7

We explore the efficiency of wave slope soaring flight (WSS) under a range of environmental/flight conditions. In each panel, the corresponding percent reduction relative to flight in ground effect (GE) is shown in blue, with the right hand y-axis. a Cost of transport (COT) of WSS is shown for a range of airspeeds consistent with [4, 39] in the default case of 0.5m flight height, 2m wave height, 15s wave period. b Minimum COT of WSS over a wave of 2m height, 15s period, varying flight height. c Minimum COT of WSS for 0.5m flight height over 15s period waves, varying wave height. d Minimum COT of WSS for 0.5m flight height over 2m high waves, varying wave period