A calculation method of effective power based on heat transfer mathematical simulation of intercooling system was proposed for an aviation piston engine, and the heat transfer simulation model of the intercooling system was developed with VB language. The validity of the simulation model was verified by the test data. The results show that the errors between the simulation values and the test values of the intercooler cold side outlet temperature and the hot side outlet temperature are within 1.5%. Using the simulation model, the influence of fan air flow on the effective power of the aviation piston engine was studied, and the air effective power recovery was studied. The results show that with the increase of fan air volume, the amplification of fan power increases, while the amplification of engine power decreases. Under the combined effect of the two, the effective power of the engine first increases and then decreases with the increase of fan air volume. For the aviation piston engine studied, when the fan air volume is 1 400 m³/h, the effective power of the engine reaches the maximum, which is 101.6 kW. When the flight altitude is below 2 000 m, the engine effective power recovery coefficient increases slightly with the increase of flight altitude, and when the flight altitude is above 2 000 m, the engine effective power decreases significantly with the increase of flight altitude. Under the condition of 50 ℃ at sea level, the effective power recovery coefficient of the engine at 7 000 m is only 92.2%.