Ceratonia siliqua harubh. "Ceratonia siliqua", the scientific name of the carob tree, derives from the Greek "kerátiοn" κεράτιον 'fruit of the carob (from "keras" κέρας 'horn'), and Latin "siliqua" 'pod, carob'. The unit "carat", used for weighing precious metal and stones, also comes from κεράτιον, as alluding to an ancient practice of weighing gold and gemstones against the seeds of the carob tree by people in the Middle East. The system was eventually standardized, and one carat was fixed at 0.2 grams. In late Roman times, the pure gold coin known as the "solidus" weighed 24 carat seeds (about 4.5 grams). As
AMS-Flight Carat with the main spar under the pilot's knees. The Carat has a conventional electrically-operated inwardly retractable undercarriage. The main wheels have hydraulically operated disc brakes and there is a parking brake. The non-retractable tailwheel is steerable. The Carat is powered by an air-cooled, four cylinder, Volkswagen derived, 40 kW (54 hp) Sauer S1800 piston engine. This drives the unique feature of the Carat, its folding two blade propeller: the blades fold forward like spears to minimize drag when the engine is off. This is in contrast to other motorgliders which mostly either store the propeller inside the fuselage, or merely