fly it first
Hi,
There used to be a guy that made bent sticks in batches, but he doesn't do it anymore. He did post a PDF of his bend design. A lot of folks of medium stature seem to find that the RV-8 stick is a bit too far away, and the bend moves the grip aft an inch or so.
If you search on 'stick bend', you will find at least one thread with lots of ideas of how to bend one yourself, as well as a link to the bend drawing from RVWOODY, the guy that used to do the bent sticks. You can also contact Russ McCutcheon (forgive the spelling) who does most of the RV weldments, and he will weld up a bent stick in segments for you if you send him a pattern.
It does not solve the length issue though; even with the bend, it still will hit the panel at full forward stick if it is not shortened.
BUT....
I would recommend you put it together and fly it first. I find that the length is just fine when trimmed to just clear the panel. I left a 1/2" clearance so if I happen to have my thumb on top of the stick, it won't hit the panel if I push all the way forward.
As for fore-and-aft location, I have a Tosten grip which angles forward comfortably fitting the natural angle of your wrist, on a straight stick, and after I flew it, I decided that position was perfect, so no S-bend for me, and the length feels perfect in flight, even though it seems kind of short on first look. I'm just over 6'.
Hope that helps,