I agree with most of what has already been said. I believe that flying skills plateau after the first couple of thousand hours (or less), and then it's decision making that separates one pilot from another. I think you can have a pilot who is great in one role and average in another. Lu, I'm not having a go at you, but I think that as a non-pilot you are not in the best position to judge whether someone you flew with a long time ago was a great pilot. For example when I was on pilot's course I thought all my instructors were aviation gods. A few years down the track I realised that some of them were pretty average. Another pilot flying with your friend Dave might have been horrified to find him going intentionally and/or inadvertantly into IMC.