Fossett, who took off from here in the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer on Monday for a flight expected to last between 60 and 80 hours, said he had to deal with a number of "dramas" during takeoff but the flight was going well overall.

At 03:30 GMT, Fossett was at 48,197 feet (14,700 meters) and had been in the air for nearly 27 hours.

The GlobalFlyer was over the Arabian sea heading east towards Karachi, Pakistan at speeds of around 340 knots (390 miles per hour/630 kilometers per hour).

Earlier in the day, in a radio hook-up with reporters at Mission Control in Salina, Fossett said he had a "good chance" of completing the record-breaking flight.

"I have picked up a 100 mile per hour (160 kilometers) jet stream just behind mew and I am covering territory fast, which is very encouraging," he said. "It's interesting to watch things go by and I am looking forward to another good day tomorrow."

The most serious problem was a temporary failure of the Global Positioning System, or GPS, Fossett's satellite navigation aid.

"This was my sole source of navigation so this was very serious," he said, adding that the GPS had not functioned for about half of his flight over Canada. "I believe it was an antenna problem," Fossett said.

He cautioned that other problems could arise and there was still a long way to go. "There may be new things that come up so there's no real basis for confidence," he said, "but I'm happy with the situation."

At Mission Control, flight controllers were carefully monitoring fuel consumption.

"One of the critical factors we are monitoring is the amount of fuel he has left," said project manager Paul Moore. "He's eaten quite substantially into his fuel (so far) but that's as we expected."

Moore said the GPS problem had been potentially fatal to the flight. "This could have been a showstopper," he said. "This was really a big worry as we are unable to fly without GPS especially when were out of radio range.

"Steve was essentially flying blind," Moore said. "Happily, after a couple of hours of malfunction the GPS system did reengage."

Moore said cabin pressure was good and the temperature in the cramped cockpit was 65 degrees Fahrenheit (18 degrees Celsius). "His feet are a bit chilly," said Moore.

Fossett nonetheless reported being "comfortable enough" in the 7.7 foot (2.3 meter) long cockpit.

"I have got elbow room, I can get to everything, I'm not complaining," he said. "It is a long trip - especially the nights. I feel a little bit tired but I have been through this before and I am going to be okay."

The three-day journey will test the endurance and piloting abilities of Fossett, a 60-year-old millionaire who has set dozens of world records and world firsts with jet airplanes and gliders, hot air balloons and sailing.

At takeoff, the 3,350-pound (1,522-kilogram) single engine aircraft was carrying nearly 19,000 pounds (8,636 kilograms) of fuel in 13 tanks for the 23,000-mile (37,260-kilometer) journey at altitudes as high as 52,000 feet (15,850 meters).

Virgin Atlantic Airways of Sir Richard Branson is funding the GlobalFlyer and the British entrepreneur is in Salina monitoring the flight.

The GlobalFlyer was designed by aviation legend Burt Rutan, who recently made headlines when his SpaceShipOne won the 10 million dollar "X Prize" for sending a privately-designed craft into space twice in two weeks.

Rutan also designed the Voyager, which was used by his brother Dick Rutan and Jeanne Yeager in 1986 to set a record of nine days for a non-stop, non-refueled flight around the world.

Fossett hopes to beat that record by making it in less than 80 hours, and by doing it on his own.

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