Next, you'll need to bend the yoke back about 5/8". To do this, I took two pieces of 3/8"x2"x3" ply and clamped the bottom 2/3rd's of the yoke in a vice and carefully bent the yoke back. Use the outer strut tube for leverage and slide it all the way down the inner strut tube to make sure you don't deform the outer tube. Make sure you bend it in the correct direction - the scissors should point towards the trailing edge of the wing, with the yoke facing inwards towards the bottom of the wheel well. Take your time and check the location of the strut/yoke in the retract well several times. It does take some force to start the bend, but is not as difficult as it seems at first.

After this is done, cut the inner and outer strut tubes and springs to length. For me, this was 2 1/4" for the outer tube, 1 3/4" for the inner tube, and 3" for the spring. FYI, Tam suggested that the spring be cut so that the strut compresses about 1/2 of the total travel when the VJ was sitting level and full of fuel. DISCLAIMER: I have not flown mine yet so the spring length is estimated - Tam suggested shortening the spring by 1/3 of the uncompressed spring length. You can always make it a bit longer and shorten (or shim it up) later if needed.