Ha! Laughter, I remember that!
Well I'm using his in-laws as sponsors and moneys a wee bit tight but I'm guessing that if the normal processing time is 3 days, I can not see it spiraling past a month.
If i apply before the end of April i'd hazard a guess that it would be cleared by June?
As to that I'd better not try to say. When I started the application process the timeline was something like 8-10 days. By the time I got my application completed and the packet had been received, logged, and the UKBA had emailed to say it was in the queue, the wait had bumped up to 28 days. Business days, btw, which means not counting holidays (British and American), and of course weekends.
During the wait for a determination that estimated time bumped up as far as 34 business days, and dropped to as low as 18.
I received my determination on the 28th business day. And by then of course I was a total wreck!
So the numbers could change quickly. I do think the numbers change to a higher set the closer to summer it gets-more people applying for holiday and work visas because the weather is so much better during summer, of course, and because parents being transferred for work like to do the move during the summer. More time to settle the school-agers in before starting a new school year in a new country.