FUEL EXHAUSTION GAUGES.

Narrative

FUEL EXHAUSTION AS A RESULT OF SEVERAL FACTORS. NEW HOMEBUILT ACFT WAS IN TEST FLT PROGRAM AND I WAS SECOND PLT TO FLY ON THIRD FLT. FUEL GAUGES WERE KNOWN TO NOT BE PROPERLY CALIBRATED; HOWEVER; R TANK WAS PROPERLY CALIBRATED TO SHOW EMPTY. IT SUBSEQUENTLY DID NOT STAY IN CALIBRATION AND WAS; IN FACT; EMPTY AT THE 1/EIGHTH LEVEL. NOSE TANK HAS A SIGHT TUBE FOR QUANTITY AND WE ARE HAVING PROBS WITH ITS ACCURACY. I DID NOT EXPECT THOSE PROBS DUE TO ITS SIMPLICITY OF OP. THE PLAN WAS TO FLY MOST OF THE GAS OUT AND DRAIN THE REMAINDER TO PROPERLY CALIBRATE ALL QUANTITY GAUGES. FUEL EXHAUSTION OCCURRED APCHING ARPT FOR LNDG WITH 6 PLUS GALLONS INDICATED ON SIGHT TUBE; 3/8 REMAINING IN L TANK AND 1/8 REMAINING IN R TANK. FURTHER COMPOUNDING THE PROB; I DID NOT KNOW THE EXACT LENGTH OF TIME THE FIRST PLT FLEW; AND IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO VISUALLY OBSERVE THE AMOUNT OF FUEL IN THE WING TANKS. CORRECTIVE ACTION CONSISTS OF SOLVING THE PROB WITH THE FUEL LINE TO THE SIGHT TUBE (REMOVING A HIGH SPOT IN THE LINE) AND WORKING WITH THE MANUFACTURER OF THE FUEL PROBE CALIBRATION SYS TO SECURE THE SET SCREWS. I WILL ALSO BE MORE CONSERVATIVE IN MY ESTIMATION OF FUEL ON BOARD. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR STATES THAT HE WAS ABLE TO REACH THE FIELD AND LANDED WITH VIRTUALLY NO DAMAGE TO THE ACFT. HIS FRUSTRATION IS WITH THE INACCURACY OF HIS FUEL QUANTITIES IN THE TANKS. THE WING TANKS HAVE ELECTRIC GAUGES WHICH ARE NOT VERY ACCURATE. THE MANUFACTURER IS NOT OFFERING MUCH HELP. THE ENG IS FED BY THE NOSE TANK WITH TRANSFER PUMPS. HE HAS REWORKED THE SIGHT GAUGE CALIBRATION AND FEELS VERY COMFORTABLE WITH IT AT THIS TIME. HE IS PRIMARILY USING TIME AS A MEANS OF FUEL CTL; NOT RELYING ON GAUGES. THE MAJOR PROB IS THAT THE WING IS COMPOSITE AND SO HE WOULD HAVE TO TAKE THE WING COMPLETELY APART TO FIX THE PROB. THAT DOES NOT SEEM TOO SENSIBLE AT THIS TIME.