Hi Shaun.
You don't *need* the tension springs. Most people take them off or just unclip them, but if you use a very heavy eyepiece down low on the horizon you might need the spring(s).
The small cap in the dust cover is to stop the aperture down - so instead of taking the whole dust cover off, you'll only take off the camp - so instead of a 12" f/5 telescope it would become a 2.5" f/25 or something. Honestly forget about it, you'll never use it.
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