Beta testing isn't all fun. It can be, but it's also tedious and repetitive, and stuff happens over and over again.
I think what most people don't understand is that it takes a lot of discipline to get the data points, be confident in your findings and to appreciate the responsibility to not take the engineering team down a dead end. Some of the discussions are lively, to say the least.
In the case of testing the Dynon autopilot, for example, a good portion had to do with flying qualities and testing the features, but a substantial part of the beta-tester's back-and-forth centers on human factors. That's why a smart company like Dynon (and others) actually has pilots fly the product before release; and has more than one pilot do the honors. Among us you'll find pilots of all skill levels, ergonomic preferences, and tolerance for quirks. The truth of how the product works will be in there, even if it's sometimes a challenge for the engineers to pick it out of the noise.
Plus, you have to tamp down the occasional fear that "these guys just aren't going to get it" that sometimes turns into, "I'm ripping this thing out of the panel and sending it back with hammer marks." Particularly galling if you've been flying with a competing product that is, in the early stages at least, much better than what you're testing.
The reward is when the product hits the streets and you read someone's comment, "Man, that feature really works well," and you had some hand in making it work that well. Pretty cool.
Marc