With the wing on a pad on the bench we need to do some surgery. First order was to carefully and strategically remove the aluminum from a panel large enough to fully assess the damage.
From here, I used a razor to carefully cut away small sections of balsa skin until I had cut it all away and had joints on the ribs to glue on new skin.
New portions of structure were added at the stringers on the top and at the leading edge. The leading edge has a piece of ply behind the LE balsa stock. I did not have the exact shape but a razor plane carves away the bulk easily. I reinforced that area with triangle stock to keep things sturdy.
Next up was to re-sheet the wing top. three sections were used. Careful measuring and cutting and then Medium CA keeps it all in place.
A little light sanding to do some initial blending and some gaps need to be filled with spackle.
Note above how the bottom of the leading edge was also missing pieces. I cycled the landing gear up and down to trace a new piece of trim ply to install first and then a small portion of sheeting was installed, blended, and spackled.
From that last picture you can see that I have one more minor area to repair but for two hours of work she is already looking much better. The sign could not have hit in a more easily repaired area. It stopped right at the aluminum spar and went right into the wheel well. I'm out of my chromate green paint so I'll likely attend the event without the wheel well painted. Still, at this point I can wrap up the spackle sanding, apply a bit of glass, re-apply new aluminum, polish, and rivet.
Many folks were thinking she was a write off from such an injury but I was not concerned. I estimated 6-10 hours to fully repair her and it looks like my estimate is going to be spot on. What you see posted here consists of only 2 hours of work.