CAPTAIN O' THE FOREX

First, a reminder that you may send your aviation questions to me at support@fromthecockpit.com with "Aviation Question" in the subject. Be sure to check out this week's Ask Cap'n Meryl question & answer about Lights, Please!

In my last Blog entry, entitled A New Direction, I wrote that my life has taken a new path which is very different from my life's work as a pilot. The time has come to discuss it with my readers. Many of you have written wondering if and when I might resume flying for another company.

I wrote once before that I was starting to trade foreign currencies in the Forex (FOReign EXchange) with some success. A spinning medallion was added to the upper right-hand corner of the Home Page at www.fromthecockpit.com. That link will take you to a site, www.forexeztrading.com, which has to do with trading the Forex using a simple, mechanical method requiring no analysis, chart interpretation, etc. There is a small learning curve to learn to use some software, but very little knowledge of the Forex is required.

There is also a mini-course which explains the philosophy behind the method. The course is also available in a free Ebook which I can send upon request. Write to admin@forexeztrading.com and put Free Ebook in the subject line.

Since that icon was posted, I have been trading about a dozen different accounts, some for myself and my business entities along with other accounts for some relatives and friends. Every single account has shown a profit, some of them mind-boggling. Of my four main accounts, two have more than tripled and two have more than quadrupled since mid-November.

In the first two months I used this software, my accounts rose about 60% or so.

However, about two months ago, I discovered an additional couple of twists and suddenly my profits were through the roof, resulting in profits even I did not imagine.

Through my broker and word of mouth, my track record started getting noticed, and I began to receive requests to trade others' portfolios for them. Some of those requests were for portfolios worth potentially tens of millions of dollars from commercial money managers.

To that end, the Captains Fund was born. Please do not consider this a solicitation in any way. It is not and I do not have any need or desire to seek additional funds to trade. However, if you do have an interest, you'll find the pertinent information at http://www.captainsfund.com . Regardless of my successful track record, trading foreign currencies is considered speculatively and risky, in spite of the fact I've learned how to minimize the risk.

The name of this new endeavor came about, not only because I'm a retired airline captain, but because my three partners happen to be retired or current airline pilots as well. My three partners are my husband, Al The Web Guy (retired 747-400 captain), a former Eastern and Cathay Pacific 747-400 captain, and a current 747-400 Co-Commander for Cathay Pacific, currently based in Hong Kong.

Whereas the simplified do-it-yourself method is highly effective and takes literally only a few minutes a week to manage once set up, I've added my personal touches and in doing so created a full-time occupation. With so much at stake, I can't justify running off for a week or two each month to go flying in such early stages of this new venture. I may reconsider my potential offer to ferry airliners in the future, however, especially since a software company is attempting to automate my trading system for me. Should they be successful, I will still have the option to resume flying. Right now, it doesn't seem terribly likely, but I haven't ruled it out, either.

Had the overseas airlines I applied to not rejected the notion of a foreign female airline captain, or had the airliner ferry job offer come sooner, then I might once again be flying around the planet. For now, however, I find great satisfaction in helping others grow their portfolios and intend to start a charitable application in the very near future. Since I am able to generate more in a month or less than I did as an airline captain in an entire year, financially my needs have been met. This was of great concern after both Al and I lost nearly all of our pensions after United declared bankruptcy and they were handed over to the government.

I've discovered a new passion and am thoroughly enjoying myself, even more so knowing I can make a difference in people's lives.

With this fortunate turn of events and my life on a new course, my sequel may now have an ending, as yet unwritten, but for now you can find Part One of Chapter Three here: Table Of Contents