Definition
Cockpit-mounted valves or switches that control which fuel tank (or tanks) feeds the engine. The pilot uses them to choose a tank, switch between tanks, or shut off fuel flow entirely.
Plain English
Controls in the cockpit that let the pilot pick which fuel tank the engine drinks from, or turn the fuel off altogether.
Context Anchor
Seen during preflight, engine start, cruise tank changes, and emergency checks, including night emergencies when the pilot may need to confirm the fuel is coming from the correct tank.
Derivation
Fuel means material burned to produce power. Selector comes from a word meaning “to choose.” Together, fuel selectors are the controls used to choose the airplane’s fuel source.
Why Pilots Care
Correct selector position prevents fuel starvation during engine-out or low-fuel situations, especially critical at night when visual references are limited.
Intuition Check
Do not assume a fuel selector is a fuel gauge. It does not show how much fuel is onboard; it chooses which tank supplies fuel to the engine, or shuts fuel off.
Example Sentence 1
After the engine began running rough, the pilot checked the fuel selector and found it had been bumped between detents.
Example Sentence 2
During the emergency checklist the instructor confirmed the fuel selector was set to both tanks before attempting a restart.