I've had mine about 9 months in service so no comment on longevity, but it works fine, TX and RX clarity seems equal to any aircraft radio I've used including the expensive Garmin stuff in powered aircraft. The comparatively high published power draw against other radios isn't an issue, I have a regular old 9ah SLA battery for radio + vario + Oudie and it all runs well on 5+ hour flights.
-Doug