Look! Up in the sky! Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it Superman?

No, it's a buggy!

Come Saturday, a buggy — or something resembling one — will attempt to soar over the Delaware River as a team of local aeronauts takes part in Red Bull power drink's Flugtag event near Philadelphia.

"I always thought it'd be interesting, and this is the first time it's been in Philadelphia," said Mike Herr, 24, who heads Amish Aviation, a flight team comprised mostly of employees of The Brickyard Restaurant and Sports Bar in Lancaster.

Amish Aviation members are Herr, Taylor Merrill of Lancaster, Ken Eckert of Millersville, Mike Bachman of Philadelphia, Samuel Wolkowicz of Strasburg and Brian Schmidt and Angela Smucker of Leola.

At the competition, Herr said, each team will present a 30-second skit, which usually includes references to Red Bull, after which the team will shove its aircraft down a sloping 30-foot-long ramp. The aircraft (hopefully) will become airborne and soar over the river.

Judges choose winners based on three criteria, Herr said.

"You're graded on fan favorite, judge favorite and how far you fly," Herr said.

Aircraft must be no less than 30 feet wide and weigh no more than 450 pounds, including the pilot. Launching must be human-powered, without use of slingshots or catapults.

Aircraft design is as varied as the teams. In the past, there was an airborne outhouse, a flying fire engine and a replica of Santa's sleigh.

That's why Herr decided on a uniquely Lancaster County look.

"Since I live in Lancaster, I figured I have to go with an Amish theme," he said.

The team's buggy is made of cardboard and has a wooden floor, and the horses are cardboard as well. However, the buggy will be mounted on actual wagon wheels.

Herr said the skit will feature an Amish couple working in a cornfield (cardboard cornstalks) while Weird Al Yankovic's "Amish Paradise" is playing in the background. One of them finds a case of Red Bull, and, not knowing what it is, starts to drink.

Pumped up by the energy drink, Herr said "we go crazy" and begin to party hearty.

The rest of the skit will have to be seen to be believed.

Amish Aviation was one of more than 300 entries submitted for the Philadelphia-area event. Thirty-four teams were selected, representing nine states and the District of Columbia.

"They loved our idea," Herr said of the event's selection committee.

The aircraft is being built in a barn near Strasburg, and Herr said the team was "going to give it a couple of practice runs" before the big event.

"We'll have to find a good-sized hill somewhere," he said.

Herr said he and his team are "excited" for Saturday's event.

"We've been working hard, and I think we have a good chance of taking home a win," he said.

The aircraft is sponsored by Perpetual Party Planner, Herr's disc jockey business, and the Brickyard.

The first Red Bull Flugtag (or "flying day") took place in Vienna, Austria, in 1991. Since then, Flugtags have been held worldwide, attracting crowds of up to 300,000 people.

The Philadelphia Flugtag will be held at the Camden waterfront. The gates will open at 11 a.m., with flights taking place from 1 to 3:30 p.m.

Previous events were held in Miami, the Twin Cities in Minnesota and Long Beach, Calif.

The first-place winners from each event get to fly with Red Bull race pilot Kirby Chambliss at his Phoenix, Ariz., ranch.

lalexander@lnpnews.com