When the Wright Brothers dreamt more than 100 years ago of creating a contraption to carry humans through the air, they hardly imagined the Jetlev — a newly introduced jet pack that uses large streams of water to send riders soaring above sea level like superheroes.

Only 10 Jetlevs exist in the world, and two are now housed and operated on Oahu at SeaBreeze Water Sports in Hawaii Kai.

"Any time something new comes along, we research it and find out if it’s a good fit for our company," said Courtney Krantz, owner and operator of SeaBreeze.

Krantz said the company isn’t officially taking customers yet because it’s been training staff since the Jetlevs arrived less than two weeks ago. She said she is unsure when SeaBreeze will take its first customers, but insisted it will be soon.

"There’s just some last-minute things we need to do," she said.

SeaBreeze customers and other observers have seen the Jetlev in action during training and been intrigued. Some kids, Krantz said, thought her employees looked like "Toy Story" character Buzz Lightyear while they were up in the Jetlev.

But this is taking "falling with style" to new heights.

To start off, riders at least 18 years old perch their rears in a cushion of memory foam in the shape of a bicycle seat and strap into the "pack," which looks like a shiny black roller coaster chair that provides the same excitement and adrenaline rush of an amusement ride without the bouncing, rattling and thrashing.

Thrill-seekers don’t need to pre-qualify with ballerina-like balance or sumo wrestler strength to operate the Jetlev. People weighing less than 100 pounds and more than 300 pounds have successfully operated it, Krantz said.

That’s because a large water hose that connects the floating power source to the pack keeps the rider stable by acting like the third arm of a tripod along with the jets, said John Pang, SeaBreeze’s lead Jetlev instructor.

"It’s actually balancing you because there’s so much water going through," Pang said. "All you’re going to be doing is leaning your body, and when you lean everything just kind of goes with you."

The ride will be offered at an introductory price of $199 and includes brief instruction, the flight experience itself, and transportation to and from Waikiki for tourists, Krantz said.

First-time riders will not have control over any aspect of the Jetlev other than steering.

"When they’re first-time people, they do not get to determine how fast or how high they can go," Krantz said. "At this point and at this level, we don’t do that."

Instead, riders will wear a helmet equipped with a headset so the instructor can communicate with them. Instructors will hold a small control box that controls the throttle and the "kill switch," Krantz said.

First-time riders will be allowed to fly only between 5 feet and 6 feet above the water, nowhere near the maximum height of 30 feet. They’ll wear life jackets. And the pack is designed to float.

"There’s no chance of sinking," Krantz said. "Even if we have to pull the kill switch, they’ll just splash in the water."

The Jetlev is made of three main parts: the "pod," which provides power, trails along on the surface of the water and looks like a Jet Ski without a seat, a 27-pound "pack" that straps onto the rider like a backpack and has a water jet on each side, and a 33-foot-long hose that connects the two.

The pod sucks water from the ocean and pumps it into the main hose, which shoots it up to the pack and out through the side jets.

"It’s actually pretty simple," said Dean O’Malley, president of Jetlev Southwest, the company that’s working with SeaBreeze, by phone from Newport Beach, Calif. "The concept has been around for the long time. It was just a matter of repurposing it."

Once the Jetlev is up in the air, the whole operation — torrents of water and all — runs quieter than a medium-sized boat. The pod makes a dull humming noise as it scoots across the water, and the jets make a light splashing noise.

Chinese-born Canadian Raymond Li came up with the idea for the Jetlev in 2000 and a fully functional prototype went operational in 2008. Six of the 10 Jetlevs in the world are in the U.S. and are used commercially in Hawaii, California and Florida.

A small number of people from around the world have purchased the $99,500 Jetlev for private ownership, including the crown prince of Dubai.