John, Well said. A buddy and I have adopted your system of training with our planes for the reasons you talked about. We have both been club intro pilots. The intro system is a good idea, but in practice it is hard to manage. The way we approach it now is simple. We do as you do. Use our planes and training system at no charge. The requirement is the person wanting the help must have a couple of things. First, their own equipment, (plane, engine and radio). Second is to be a AMA member. That is a requirement on our filed. Those two requirements is a statement that the person wanting to join in does join in. Our club has two intro pilots that will give intro flights. They do not train people.
We do also agree with you about the planes. My first suggestion to any new person is a Kadet type plane. My second choice is the Alpa type and the third is the Goldberg type. Like you I have seen all kinds brought to the field. I do throw in with you that once a person starts flying and getting around the flight line they pick up many basic skills setting up and maintaining planes. We are lucky to have some guys that will help new people set up their aircraft. This gives my buddy and I time to do what we do, teach people to fly. Of all the "trainers" there is a couple of what I think are bad and not ideal for training. If newcomers will stick to the tried and true trainers. It will make the journey in this hobby/sport more fun.