I use the QRE1113 for measuring the speed of a small DC motor. In my case it detects a blob of white paint on a black 8mm plastic disk on the motor shaft. However it is close range device (about 1mm IIRC) so may not be suitable for detecting a propeller.
There is a wide range of reflective optical detectors that come with an IR LED and a photo transistor. Have look in the online catalogues of the major component suppliers such as RS components or DigiKey.
The program that I use with my QRE1113 is in this link.
...R