hello guys and thanks for the replies!

the project had to be handed in on tues morning so unfortunately i got the replies to late to help me there, but that was more my problem having posted like a few hours before the due date of the project!

i did actually use the methods outlined above with the emphasis being on the use of the graph editor. i was able to use it to correct the fans motion so now, instead of slowing down then speeding up it has a definite increase in speed. once you get your head around the layout of the graph editor it's actually a lot of fun.

more practice is needed but at least i know from knowledgable replies here that i'm on the right track.

thanks once again chaps and look out for more panic posts soon!

p.s.

i heard mention that you could make a script for this action, is this true? if so how would i go about it and is there a good book somebody could recommend for this and other maya animation concepts that don't just deal with keyframing?