An adaptive backstepping approach to obtain directional control of a fixed-wing UAV in presence of unknown crosswind is developed in this paper. The dynamics of the cross track error with respect to a desired trajectory is derived from the lateral airplane equations of motion. Adaptation laws are proposed to estimate the parameters of the unknown disturbances and are employed in closed-loop system. The stability analysis is proved using Lyapunov theory. In addition, several simulations taking into account unknown wind gusts are performed to analyze the behavior and the robustness of the control scheme. A test platform has been developed in order to validate the proposed control law.