Clint, I see your point, though can’t see a likely scenario where the instructor would be on the controls in the first place, unless the owner/pilot had already screwed up.
In the rare event where the instructor asks for something which the owner deems hazardous to his pride and joy, one would hope for a discussion first. If that failed, sure the owner would be within his rights to return for a landing. I can’t see any instructor interfering with that process, unless it is clear that the owner is out of his depth.
As an aside, I bought a nice little Sonex that was owner built. It had 10 hours on it. The owner had only flown drifters and the like and found the Sonex too much. He wouldn’t even come with me on a pre buy flight, but left me to do it solo, and until then I had never even seen a Sonex. My first landing in that was probably the best landing I ever did in it.
Some time later I needed a BFR. The RA instructor didn’t want to do it in my Sonex, instead insisting on using his Lightwing. Such an awful aeroplane! The instructor was more scared of it than I, and spent half the flight on the controls himself. I did not argue…his trainset, but indeed he was a poor instructor.
Last edited by Mach E Avelli; 16th Feb 2024 at 23:32.