Thanks for anyone who might be able to lead me in the right direction.
I am currently working on an autonomous plane system that has a few sensors to help it find its way around. I want to have a way to get real time readings for those sensors from the Arduino on the plane to my laptop. Is there a way to transmit from the Arduino to my computer when it is 30-50 feet away?
I remember seeing other peoples project where they have an antenna plugged into their computer that somehow talks with the Arduino but I have no idea what kind it is or how they are doing it.
Use Serial.print() on the Arduino to send data and a terminal program on a PC to log and display the data. You will need a USB-serial adapter between the PC and the receiving radio output.
A few months ago I would have mentioned the rf24 radio modules, but lately I have tried out the HC-12 units recommended by @jremington and I second their recommendation. Same or better range, much easier to use and no limit on packet size. They look just like a serial port. The serial input basics tutorial will give you some ideas for robust communication methods and how to build, send, receive and parse packets.