Also, my aircraft can not dictate what type of signal the radio station sends.
Yes it can. All radio receivers have a detection stage. Your radio in the aircraft prob doesn’t have a switchable detection phase so will be AM only. This is why we have band plans. Pilots prob wouldn’t appreciate someone transmitting using SSB on their frequencies. Could be a disaster.
dictate, not detect
If the AM station sends an AM signal only, then there is no way for me to receive it with VHF equipment.
So, for starters, let’s exclude cloudy days, because AM signals reflect of the ground and clouds on cloudy days. in the manner, the can travel around the earth.
But on a clear day:
The same signal sent from a station in Denver to the East with no buildings interfering with it will be lost at ground level once the receiver is 100-150 miles away. However, from 37,000 feet the very same signal from the very same station, with no building interference could be received from a position over Kansas City on a clear day.
This is because on the ground, the receiver’s line of sight is blocked by the horizon at a short distance. In the air, the receiver also gets its line of sight blocked eventually, just at a much much larger distance.
this is because the earth is round. An AM signal on a flat earth on a clear day with no obstructions could reach both the ground level receivers and airborne receivers no matter what distance they are from the station.
Why do you think stations put these transmitters at the top of tall towers?