Ok, so while I am fairly new to being a pilot, I am not new to radios. I have been a licensed amateur radio operator for almost ten years and have a good bit of experience with cloning software, although I generally prefer to program the radio manually just because you wont always have the cloning cables and computer with you.
First off, there is NOTHING illegal about using cloning cables with your radio, but to be more specific, you are not cloning, you are programming. You are only cloning if you copy from another radio.
Second, there are many different programming softwares out there that will work, most of the time better than the icom version. I am a fan of icom radios but they are inherently difficult to program, whereas the Yaesu radios are VERY user friendly and durable.
Look on the internet for third party programming software for your radio. What you will undoubtedly find is a version that works for your radio and many other makes and models..these are great. I use the VX-8 commander software for example and can program multiple different radios with it (i'll look and see if it will support the icom aviation radios and let you know).
As far as your experience with Icom...typical. If you want a radio that will not require tech support from the manufacturer or at least assistance from experienced user, get a Yaesu, they are very reliable, durable, very good quality radios and normally have all of the same features as icom except for D-star which you wont need for aviation anyways.
Let me know if I can help you out further. Enjoy!
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