flattening a surface

I'm having trouble flattening this round surface.  What am I doing wrong?

I created a model of a cavity.  Now I want to make a pattern so I can cut out a piece of sheetmetal to fit inside the physical part creating that cavity.  I created a model of the sheetmetal by thickening a surface offset.  Then watched a video of how to flatten it but... no dice. 

see attached

jerry

SolidworksParts And Features