You are drawing your own conclusion that all fliers who do this are not competent pilots.
I guess it may come down to how we identify a "competent" pilot. I guess you may be right, it is my belief that if a pilot cannot control his aircraft from an approved pilot station, I do not define him as "competent". How else can we define competency? "He is a competent pilot, but only if he stands behind his plane during takeoff?" REALLY?
Tell that to the veteran pilots where I fly who do this the first time when taking up a plane that has never flown and they are not sure how it will react once off the ground.
I will conclude that by "veteran" pilots, you are speaking of the guys that have been flying for a long time? In my book, "veteran pilot" does not equal "competent pilot". The term, "veteran" refers to a time frame, or LENGTH of experience, the term, "competent" refers to an ability.
The English dictionary clearly defines both words and their distinctly different meanings as well:
vet·er·an
noun \ˈve-tə-rən, ˈve-trən\
Definition of VETERAN
1a : an old soldier of long service
b : a former member of the armed forces
2 : a person of long experience usually in some occupation or skill (as politics or the arts)
com·pe·tent
adjective \ˈkäm-pə-tənt\
Definition of COMPETENT
1: proper or rightly pertinent
2: having requisite or adequate ability or qualities : fit
3: legally qualified or adequate
4: having the capacity to function or develop in a particular way; specifically : having the capacity to respond
In my experience, a COMPETENT veteran pilot is an amazing wealth of skill and knowledge and is a HUGE asset to our hobby. An INCOMPETENT veteran pilot is simply what I refer to as a FOG and is a detriment to our hobby.
Simply stated, I believe a competent pilot does not need to know how his plane will react on takeoff to be able to safely control it, he will use his competency to guide the plane where he wants it to go.
Regards,
Astro