Flattening a spherical helix surface

[hecsmac]

Hi,

I am trying to flatten out a spherical helix surface shape.

I have created a kind of orange-peel shape that i need to flatten out to
see the net shape, sort of like peeling an orange in one go and then
laying out the peel on the table.

i cannot get it to covert to sheet metal to then flatten it because it is such
a complex curve,
i can email photos...

please help me!!! I so need this to work for my dissertation project!!!
HELP!