ABOUT TIME: Congress considering legislation that would open up supersonic flight.

The Lee-Gardner Amendment would help us reduce drag by allowing us to make our engines narrower. Current engine noise rules for new supersonic aircraft are more stringent than those for the existing subsonic fleet. By setting our engine noise to the same levels as existing subsonic airplanes, we could make our engines produce so much less drag that we would save 20–40 percent on fuel, depending on whether you use this year’s or next year’s rules as a baseline.

The fuel reduction also supports longer routes. A 20 percent reduction in fuel burn per mile means correspondingly longer trips are possible. A supersonic flight from New York to São Paulo could be made without stopping to refuel. This would be a significant step forward for connecting the world.

Additionally, the Lee-Gardner Amendment would require the FAA to eliminate the Mach 1 speed limit over the United States and replace it with a well tailored sonic boom standard. This change could mean flights between New York and LA in 2.5 hours, for example. DC to San Francisco would be only 2 hours and 24 minutes at Mach 2.2.

I’m for it. Air travel time hasn’t changed significantly since I was born. It’s time for a major improvement.