J-pole antennas are very good, but not the best for aviation ,,, they
are fairly narrow band, and just the comm portion is around 15% wide
... likely better off with somehting with better wideband
characteristics.

I'll make some assumptions here. Since he says that he is using it for a
home base station, I suspect that he will most likely be listening to one
frequency most of the time. In this scenario, a J-pole is very good. He
can build it himself and tune if optimized for his frequency. RG-58 is the
type of coax you want to use. Also, buy or borrow a SWR bridge to optimize
the antenna.

If you don't want to use copper tubing, people also make tuned J-pole
antennas from twin lead antenna wire. I am making one to throw into my
survival gear bag tuned for 121.5.

A whip is good for walking around. Optimize length for your intended
frequency and mark so you know how far to extend it. If any section becomes
loose, replace the whip.

Slip'er