Airplanes take just a quick small stick movement, and a heli takes a smoother push maybe 1/4 way on the stick to make it move.
depends on the heli setup... most of my flying is with barely visible control movements. the big difference is that with a heli (micro in particular), you are ALWAYS making control inputs. a very well trimmed micro heli can maybe pull off a 5 second hover without getting too out of shape.