Sav,
I can confirm (for what it's worth !) that flying the 66 with hydraulics OFF is quite easy. Very similar to the 44 (which you can land easily without hydraulics).
In fact when I did my endorsement on the machine, I landed more than once with no hydraulics, right on the spot I wanted to...no run on landing either.
So, without defending "Frank" and his boys, the exemption is not a big deal from a safety perspective. We have been flying the 66 in Aus for ages, and it's a great machine - HEAPS of power - really can take 5 people and fuel for a "fair dinkum" flight of more than 20 minutes !
Now, make the 120B (or 206B) perform like that and we would have some sort of choice !
All the best,
Arrrj