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David-
I've forgotten the high school physics for it but yes, there should be a simple calculation based on the weight of the ship times the number of feet of height it must climb. I think you could 'back envelope' that simply by multiplying the weight times the height and figuring that much energy (in ft/lbs) must be applied to raise the ship back up. Considering the friction and all while "going down" I don't think the extra speed (the ship will "fall" faster than it would move at one level) would matter all that much.
There are some basic formulas you should be able to find in any high school physics text relating to how much energy is needed to raise xx pounds yy feet.
