I live almost 10 miles with at least one relatively minor rolling hill between my house and the Syracuse airport and I am able to receive tower, departure/approach, most airborne aircraft, and even some of the larger ground-based aircraft.
The key to good reception in my installation's case is an outdoor j-pole antenna that is tuned to the median of the frequencies I am scanning and is mounted about 25 feet up on the side of the house. Also, I am connecting this antenna to the scanner via a low-loss Belden 9913 coax cable.
Assuming you have the ability to mount an antenna outside and have a relatively clear line of sight to the airport you should discover the same success.