Glider advancements in efficiency: Enhancing factors necessary for ocean-wide flights

The Slocum Glider is an instrument of efficiency and getting more out of less. When looking at getting the most distance out of a single battery, it is important to consider many different variables. Horizontal speed and flight path planning can both play a part in being able to achieve flight across ocean basins. With the ability to change a glider´s velocity, a pilot could determine the quickest speed to fly the glider trans-ocean without depleting the battery. In other words, the pilot could choose the optimal pitch angle for a specific mission. Different pitch angles travel at different speeds while consuming battery power at different rates. One mission may carry great importance on speed rather than energy while another mission would rather go slow-and-steady in order to save as much power possible. Through enabling a pilot to change the speed of a glider through pitch angle, shorter missions can be done much more quickly while longer missions can conserve more energy while flying at a slower pace. Additionally, having a flight path that utilizes the currents in the ocean is a method used today to make gliders run efficiently. Making sure all instruments are reading properly is crucial to being able to navigate these currents. The key to this accurate navigation is a properly calibrated compass. Compass calibration can be complicated and frustrating but new methods of calibration have been able to remove a lot of the error that is associated with the compass. One comparison deals with a calibration of hanging a glider with ropes versus a calibration using a wooden tilt cart. Having the glider travel on the correct course between waypoints can cut miles off the overall trip that may add up and waste battery.