Cap'n Meryl taking a London cab for a spin.

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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

A NEW DIRECTION

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 about Icing Conditions.

I've alluded once or twice to a possible flying position starting around March of this year. At this time, however, my life has taken a new and exciting direction which I will tell you more about in the next Update. It's exciting in an utterly different way from flying, yet I've discovered a new passion and talent for something I've long suspected but never had the time or tools to develop.

Things have happened very quickly even I'm surprised and I think you will be too when I tell you about it. You may even want to participate in my new venture and I'll give you all the facts so you can make an intelligent decision. Although it means passing up the opportunity to take up a flying career again right now, it does not rule it out in the future. Time will tell.

So for now, hopefully you are intrigued and rest assured I'll fill you in completely in about two weeks. In the meantime, you can check out Part Two of Chapter Two of my book sequel, and catch up on any parts you may have missed here: Table Of Contents

SNOWMOBILE QUEEN OF THE ROCKIES

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 about "Crabby Pilots”

Now, I may have exaggerated just a tad with the title, but that's just me. When a friend of mine invited me snowmobiling near his Breckenridge home I couldn't resist. I'd been snowmobiling just once before, for about ten minutes, sitting behind someone who believed in keeping his speed moderate--maybe about 20-30 mph. That was in Alaska about 25 years ago or so.

My friend assured me this would be a docile, scenic ride. There would be two others with us, a couple from Florida. That sounded like fun and with all the snow we've had I knew it would be beautiful, so I accepted the invitation.

Al The Web Guy made the trip to the mountains with us but has snowmobiled many times before and didn't want to leave our dog Coco-Puff, so they just wandered around the mountains a little while we zoomed off into the wilderness. And when I say "zoomed," I mean ZOOMED.

It was a weekday and we saw very few other snowmobilers. My host had a trailer full of snowmobiles, helmets, gloves, clothes and everything else you can imagine.

What I didn't know was he apparently has the need for speed and an apparent death-wish. I was in the #2 position behind him with the wife and husband in that order after me. He took off like a shot and right away I had trouble keeping up. Within the first 20 minutes I was barreling along so fast it was hard for me to take my eyes off the trail and look at my speedometer, but I managed to do so. 65mph! What was my host thinking and what was I thinking trying to keep up? I later discovered he rides at speeds up to 120 mph, so from his perspective I guess we were just poking along.

I was afraid I'd lose him, though, as the trails branched off and he was not always in sight, and tried valiantly to keep up. At one point the trail became extremely steep and I went out of control and right over the side of the mountain. The snow was very deep off the trail and I stopped fairly quickly, but it took about half an hour to dig me out. I had tried to brake but my gloves were just big enough to keep my grip from being firm enough. I later pulled them up high on my wrist for better control, which helped a little.

One by one, we each had our moments, catching someone else's ski and usually throwing both riders off but each time, our host helped us up, then took off again leaving us far behind.

Surprisingly, out in the middle of what seemed like nowhere, we came upon a lodge where our host sprang for hot chocolate and hot dogs. I declined the hot dog as Al and I had stopped on the way up for a big breakfast. I couldn't resist looking at the prices, though. Six dollars for a hot dog! Frankly (Get it? Frank-ly?) that's just too much for a hot dog. Or maybe the hot dog was really just $1 and the fries 50 cents apiece. Hard to say.

So we refreshed ourselves, pleaded again with our host to slow down, which he didn't, and the three of us proceeded to be flung all over the mountain some more. I had to be pulled out over and over again. My last incident was the worst when I went over a steep cliff and wound up buried, along with my trusty steed in deep snow.

Our host and the other gentleman with us were successful in digging me out along with the snowmobile, but the incident held us up and our two hour ride turned into a six hour ride. Al was on the verge of calling Search & Rescue, which wasn't a bad idea by that time.

However, we emerged safe and sound if a little banged up. Our host invited me snowmobiling again this week for another scenic tour but I politely declined. I'm still healing from the last round and not yet quite ready to be splattered all over the Rocky Mountains again.

To see some photos taken during the ride, the following link will take you to the Last Uploads in our Colorado Wildlife album: Snowmobiling

Part One of Chapter Two of my sequel to The World At My Feet is now available for viewing. You'll find it here in the Table of Contents . Table Of Contents