Overall I was not impressed and would not recommend Ryan Aviation. The main reason I took the course with them was to learn to fly the Beaver DHC-2. At the end of the course I got few hours in the plane logged but cannot say I became proficient in it.
One thing I did like a lot about them was the aircraft! They have beautiful and very well maintained airplanes. I flew the Beaver but they also had a nice amphibious Husky which I didn't fly. If I rated them based on this factor alone it would be solid 5*.
The instruction was ok, not great. Water takeoffs, landings and taxi was covered, but I wish it wasn't as superficial. The bigger problem in my opinion is inadequate curriculum. The instructor tried to jam everything into 4 hours and of course it all was way too rushed. I've never seen the POH/AIM for the aircraft even though I asked for it multiple times. (By the way the explanation I received was it's because the airplane is so heavily STC'd that I wouldn't be able to understand the POH. I am an active CFI, commercial pilot, and instructor pilot with US Air Force CAP.) There's was no airwork done, not even the slow flight. Again I asked the owner about it and he argued that doing airwork would make it hard for him to compete with other schools that offer similar 2-days programs and since I'm not going to solo their aircraft why spend time on it.
And speaking of 2 days, if you are a visiting pilot and want to take the 2 day course I suggest you plan to stay there at least for a week. The local weather patterns are bizarre, every morning there was a dense fog, thunderstorms in the afternoon. Obviously it's not Ryan Aviation's fault in any way but something to consider when planning your trip.
Bottom line. I would give 5* for the equipment and maintenance, 3* for instruction, 1* for the training program. I will probably look for another school next time I fly seaplanes. read more