TurbineD
I received the following via email from Dr. Bob Abernethy this morning....
Bill,
At cruise conditions, Mach 3.2, about 80% of the air goes through the engine and 20% bypasses from the fourth stage into the afterburner thru 6 big pipes around the engine. The bypass air is in effect a partial ram jet and produces thrust. However at this condition the inlet produces most of the thrust and this inlet thrust is significantly increased by the bypass air. If all the air bypassed the engine it would be a pure ramjet.
My patent is dated October 1958 so I am amazed that the A12 Blackbird still holds all the speed and altitude records.