Plain English Meaning

The rules that tell a pilot what information to tell ATC during the cruise portion of an IFR flight, when to tell them, and which reports must always be made versus which are only made when something changes.

Full Definition

The standardized set of position and status reports a pilot is required to make to Air Traffic Control (ATC) while flying along an en route portion of an IFR flight. These procedures specify what must be reported, when it must be reported, and to whom, and they include both routine reports made automatically (such as position reports in non-radar environments) and non-routine reports made whenever specific conditions occur (such as a change in airspeed, an inability to climb at a previously assigned rate, or unforecast weather).