On Oct 6, 12:47 am, es330td wrote:
Sorry if this is dumb (I am only at 8.3 hours toward my PPL)...

In the email I got from AOPA ePilot training tips today there is a
discussion of fuel starvation that makes regular mention of the fuel
selector switch. All my flying is done in a CE172 and the first and
last time I worry about the switch is during pre-flight when I confirm
that it is on both. I fly on both and never fly any other way and to
be honest, outside of gravity flow issues when parked on an incline I
cannot think of why one would want to select one tank at a time vs
both.

If you ever get to a situation where you are worried about fuel, you
switch to one tank and start your watch, when that tank runs dry
(engine splutters) you will have a very good idea of how much flying
time you have left. This knowlege will enable you to decide if your
chosen alternate airfield is in reach or if you neeed to start your
precautionary landing procedures (looking for a paddock etc.)

Cheers