September 1909, the technical engineering division charges Captain Saconney to build kites capable to raise an observer to an altitude of 600 meters. He is sent on mission to England to study the military use of kites, adopted by the War Department since 1906.

In less than 2 months he orders, from the workshops of the Astra Company (specialized in manufacturing balloons), a model very close to Samuel Cody's kite. Cody is a kite derived Hargrave models, transformed with the addition of side stabilizer wings and larger cells.
 
 
 
"L'Aeronaute" magazine writes : Thanks to the use of strong sails made of Continental fabric, very efficient wind barrier; thanks also to the elimination of any unnecessary parts or tightening devices, the kites yield remarkable efficiency results.

The nacelle is made of wicker and canvas. It is suspended to the main cable and linked to the secondary cable.
 
 
At the end of summer 1915, Pantenier is kite flyer corporal in the 46th company of campaign aerostation. December 1916, in a well argued report, he suggests to replace the approved military kites (Saconney kites) by Pantenier kites. Pantenier asks for a chance to demonstrate the greater efficiency of his system, in which the cable runs between the two front sails and allows an optimum adjustment of the kites. Moreover, these kites have bigger cells and smaller wings.
 
The aeronautics section of the government's National Armies Inventions sub-secretary suggests: «the construction of a test train can be quickly performed in the installations of Military Aeronautics, who own sewing machines and all the appropriate tooling.
 
 
   
It would represent a very small expense, that of the raw materials, if corporal Pantenier, kite builder during peaceful times, would be admitted to proceed to that construction and would be admitted to the central quarters for a few days. Attached to the occupied region (Valenciennes and Lille), he does not currently have any means to carry out this construction on his own".

The proposals of Gabriel Pantenier reach the Senate's military commission in 1917, but in spite of the rectitude of his argumentation and the favorable opinion of a part of the hierarchy, Pantenier is denied a chance to make his experiments. On the other hand, such experiments might have endangered Captain Saconney 's reputation. Pantenier 's words confirm those of Frantzen : kites are poorly used and will be used very little during the rest of the first war.