Plain English Meaning

A four-part routine for changing how the airplane is flying when you're on the gauges: set the new attitude, trim out the pressure, check your other instruments to make sure it's working, and tweak as needed.

Full Definition

A structured method taught for changing aircraft attitude on instruments, consisting of four sequential actions: Establish, Trim, Cross-check, and Adjust. The pilot first establishes the desired pitch and bank on the attitude indicator, trims off the control pressures, cross-checks the supporting instruments to confirm the attitude is producing the intended performance, and then makes small adjustments as needed.