Mentor/Turbo Mentor (T-34)
Air Traffic Control Developmental
Communication Breakdown; Confusion; Situational Awareness
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Air Traffic Control Issued New Clearance
ATC Equipment / Nav Facility / Buildings; Human Factors
I was training and was sequencing arrivals into a Navy airport. I had one aircraft (T34) on a 5 mile PAR final with a BE20 executing a TACAN approach to the same runway. I assumed the BE20 would slow down more than he did when he turned into the wind. I originally told the BE20 to contact the Tower; but my trainer over keyed and told the aircraft to remain on frequency to which the pilot replied roger. Shortly after; I gave the BE20 alternate instructions and cancelled his approach; but he didn't respond. I called the Tower and told them to give him the instructions if he was on their frequency. After a few seconds; the Tower said they had him finally and said they gave him the instruction. By this point the BE20 was 2 miles from the T34 turning and climbing. Part of the complexity involved in this situation and the confusion between controllers stems from an inability to coordinate between the Navy facility and our own; because our systems don't allow for automation. Having to manually hand off and coordinate every inbound is very taxing and distracting to the overall goal of concentrating on separation and sequencing. Additionally having to maintain strips for more than six different aircraft at a time caused us to keep our heads down too often to scan effectively.
TRACON developmental described an overtake event on final between a PAR and TACAN aircraft.  The reporter listed coordination complexities and limited automation interface between the TRACON and the Navy base as causal factors.