Tamiya 1/48 Mitsubishi Betty canopy wheel

 Tamiya 1/48 Mitsubishi Betty canopy wheel

I am completing this model now but have a question about the wheel in the kit and also in the Eduard PE kit. The instructions show the wheel mounting horizontally at the bottom of the canopy, sort of half in the cockpit next to the left seat and half outside the airplane. It looks like an elevator trim wheel. This makes no sense since the canopy would not be able to close. If you've built this kit, can you tell me what they had in mind?

Thanks for the help.

Bob