Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 100; Flight Crew Total 10000; Flight Crew Type 300
Situational Awareness
Conflict NMAC
General None Reported / Taken
ATC Equipment / Nav Facility / Buildings; Procedure; Human Factors
I was instructing a private pilot in a Super Decathlon; he was trying to earn his tailwheel endorsement. We were doing touch and goes and according to ATC the primary radar was nonfunctional. We were in the right downwind leg near the approach end; when we were instructed to do a left 360 turn. We read back the instruction and completed the left 360 turn. We were then told 'extend [your] upwind; I'll call your downwind' by the controller. Before we could clarify the instructions; the controller then told us 'correction extend downwind I'll call the base' and we read it back before continuing our downwind past the approach end of the runway. The controller then told us to make another left 360 turn and we read that back and begin and begin the left 360 turn. At this point we were at least a mile past the runway and unable to see it. We came out of the 360 turn and continued back on our extended downwind. I then noticed that we were getting close to the extended centerline of the runway; so I told the private pilot that he need to move to the left. As he began turning away from the extended centerline we saw a T38 pass below us uncomfortably close.
Decathlon instructor pilot reports being issued two 360 degree turns on the downwind for spacing for an inbound T38. During the maneuvers the student allows his aircraft to drift into the final approach course and a NMAC results.