Personally, I have no issue with the charge after a year. However, when a company announces a free update like Quality Wings, who have announced an update to SP3. I would not expect to have to pay for reactivation to get that update.
FSPilot have updated the file Feb 2014 but I can't get it unless I pay for reactivation. $5 dollars isn't a disaster but it's the principle in this case . . . .