low-altitude flying; flying at low altitude
Literal aviation term for flying close to the ground or sea surface.
The helicopter was flying at low altitude, inspecting the mountain slope.
barely scraping by; consistently poor results; on the verge of failing
Figurative use likening poor performance to flying dangerously low; often used for grades, sales, or approval ratings that are barely above failure.
My grades this semester were barely scraping by; I just managed to avoid failing marks.
Sales of the new product continue to barely scrape by.