I'd try to find out what the covering is and buy a roll. Then trim the red to just before the first rib and seal all edges with iron, leaving just that one bay to recover. It will look fine, just a thin band of darker (overlapped) covering along that first rib.

The covering will come in handy for later repairs, and when you eventually do your first recover or (gasp) kit build.

I find my planes always fly a bit better with a few repairs and patches too!.....

Cam