Flight Crew Commercial
Situational Awareness; Troubleshooting
Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical
Air Traffic Control Provided Assistance; Flight Crew Landed in Emergency Condition
Aircraft
Was repositioning Aircraft X to GNV for repairs to be made to the tachometer time. I made the decision to fly IFR to Gainesville on this flight being that the cloud bases were around 2000-2500; I was in and out of the clouds at 4;000 most of the flight to GNV. About halfway to GNV I noticed a stiffness in the aileron control that was not there when I took off. I notified ATC immediately of the situation and that at the initial sign of the problem [and] that I would monitor the situation and let them know if it deteriorated. About 10 minutes later I noticed that I had very little roll control to the left; full yoke movement to the left only produced about 5 degrees of bank to the left and it felt as if the controls were binding up. At that Point I immediately notified ATC the situation had deteriorated. At that point GNV was the closest airport and made the most sense to continue to GNV. I continued the last 15 miles into GNV VFR and landed without incident. Upon landing ARF vehicles met me at the runway and followed me to the ramp. On the ground the controls moved normally but still had a stiffness to them.
A Cessna 172 pilot reported the aileron control being stiff while flying.