BEagle,
With all due respect, you are not being logical.
Instructing has rules and regulations made by the CAA, and we're all agreed about the original question on this thread.
Club check-outs are a different matter. They are the concern of the club, school, aircraft owner, and/or insurance company. They concern a pilot who can legally fly, as far as the CAA is concerned! Therefore, whatever makes the club, insurance company etc happy is OK. If not, then why not?
Now consider the pilot doing the check-out. He/she is a passenger, no more or less. If I personally ask a friend to come flying with me as a safety pilot because I'm a bit rusty, and so that he/she can keep an eye on what I do, that person is a passenger. They aren't paid, they don't log it, and they aren't getting any flying, free or otherwise. They might tell me to keep my airspeed up, or similar, or even suggest I go out with an instructor, but that's all. I do this regularly, since as a helicopter pilot my f/w flying is frequently a bit rusty. Now, if the club etc privately trusts this person enough to let a pilot fly their aircraft on his say-so, that is a purely internal matter. The CAA would have been happy to let the pilot fly in the first place!!!
Perhaps the term "check-out" is causing the problem. Because while I respect your opinions and value your experience usually, BEagle, I really cannot for the life of me see why you have a problem with this!!! Legally, that is. If you have a problem personally - well, that's another matter, and you're quite entitled to your opinion. But I don't see any way that it can be considered illegal.
