A Real Dragon Was Just Spotted Flying Over Glasgow, Scotland — Here’s What Really Happened [VIDEO]
Glasgow residents got the shock of their lives this week when a massive, winged creature banked and flapped its way across the city skyline. Video of the sighting spread fast online, and for a few confused minutes, plenty of people genuinely thought Westeros had landed in Scotland.
It hadn’t. What they were watching was a jaw-dropping animatronic dragon, flown deliberately, in broad daylight, for two mornings straight. The “dragon” is a 3D flying model of Syrax, the mount belonging to Rhaenyra Targaryen in House of the Dragon.
It's a bird. It's a plane. It's … a dragon?
— ABC News (@ABC) July 23, 2026
Footage showed an animatronic dragon from the Game of Thrones prequel flying above Glasgow, Scotland, ahead of the 2026 Commonwealth Games, a 10-day sports event. pic.twitter.com/cd0aqShPGB
The Game of Thrones Dragon Behind The Sighting
German aeronautics company Airstage built the model to promote the show’s third season. Its Glasgow flights also mark the opening of the 2026 Commonwealth Games. Pilot Dennis Gutowsky called flying it “very special,” noting the model packs 23 moving parts — rudders, propellers, a tail and wings — that all work in sync.
At 13kg with an eight-meter wingspan, the dragon took three months and roughly 3,000 hours from a 14-person team to complete. They used vacuum-formed Depron foam over a carbon fiber and aluminum skeleton, with airbrushed detailing for realistic texture. Its flight comes from impellers built into its legs. Technician Matthias Muthsam said the team started with 3D scans sent directly from HBO before shaping the final cut model — a process not unlike how film crews study game footage before big matchups to nail every detail.
Why A Game of Thrones Creature Is Flying Over A Sports Event
The Syrax model actually debuted in London for the Season 3 premiere before making the trip north. Its inventor reportedly drew inspiration from Leonardo da Vinci’s original flying machine sketches, more than 500 years old, and turned that centuries-old concept into something that flaps and glides like a living animal. For Gutowsky, the appeal goes beyond marketing. He said his favorite part of the project is inspiring young people to see engineering as something exciting and achievable.
So no, dragons haven’t returned to menace the skies. Syrax was flown on purpose, cameras were rolling, and the whole spectacle was designed to get people talking — mission accomplished. House of the Dragon Season 3 lands on HBO soon, and if this stunt is any indication, the marketing team isn’t holding back.
A Real Dragon Was Just Spotted Flying Over Glasgow, Scotland — Here’s What Really Happened [VIDEO]
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