Aerial Firefighting: an Open Questionnaire

As a follow up to "What do I want to do when I grow up", one of the more creative ideas to use my skills and abilities to serve God post-military is to fly a Single Engine Air Tanker (SEAT) as an aerial firefighter. Demand for the job is evidenced by the 6 million U.S. acres devastated by wildfires this summer, affecting both where I live in central CA and in my home state of WA. During their 100 day seasons, the SEAT mission is also critical to being the first responders to a fire, and helping contain it early, by using AT-802 air tractors to effectively and efficiently lay smaller loads of retardant or water from a nearby air attack base.

From my initial research, the career might be a good fit. I believe that fighting fires to protect life and property is a worthy cause, and that my skills, education, and experience as a military aviator have possibly prepared me well for such a career. As far as I can tell, it also matches my initial job goals: flexibility with where I want to live, a limited/predictable time away from family, an adventurous flying job (that pays at least part of the bills), and the opportunity to thrive.

The tactical problem: aside from a few hours of internet searching, and YouTube, I have very little perspective and information to help make such career decisions. I have the basic facts (which I'll spare you as the reader from reiterating here). There are few pilots, with some of my research suggesting there are fewer than 100 SEAT pilots nationwide. There are even fewer companies who fly them (my research coming up with about 14 total). Since my list of friends flying SEATs is small/nonexistent, to pursue more information, I will resort to the dreaded "cold call" tactic, starting with 2 or 3 contacts I have found online.

It's not an impossible one, only a rough place to start without a strategy. So, here's mine: a short 10 question survey to make the most effective and efficient use of the interviewee's time. Every day, I will attempt to conduct a short interview with an individual related to the SEAT business, whether by email, phone, or (preferably) in person, using the following questions. My goal is to maximize the info with the questions asked, as well as the order I choose to ask them.

1. Why did you choose SEATs?
2. What is your story/flying background, and how did you go about getting into the business?
3. (3 parts) What is a typical fire season like? A typical day like? A typical SEAT mission?
4. How would you characterize current market demand for the SEAT mission/pilots?
5. How would you characterize the culture of the SEAT community as a whole?
5. How would you characterize current SEAT pilot retention/turnover?
6. What qualifications & experience is a SEAT business looking for w/a new hire?
7. What are the expectations of a new SEAT pilot? What makes them successful?
8. What resources do you recommend to learn more about the career?
9. Given my personal goals/timeline, how can I prepare for this career now?
10. Is it worth it?

I hope to achieve success by A) focusing on the individual's perspective, B) minimizing my own role in the conversation, and C) being very open-ended with where the interviewee wants to take the conversation.

What do you think? How can I make this interview process more effective?