I've stood on the ground and talked to an aircraft 20 miles away..

air to air is even better.

BT

wrote in message
...
almostthere wrote:
Just got my ticket and I plan to purchase a handheld Nav-Comm for
back-up
but it is said that they're useless at altitude without an external
antenna
connection. What connector do I use (BNC?) and how do I go about doing
this
on rented C172s? Any alternatives/suggestions? Thanks in advance.

My handheld has been used from 6 miles out with no external antenna and
worked just fine.